Negotiations between the NFL owners and players to strike a labor agreement and end the NFL lockout have started in Minnesota, according to Jason La Canfora of NFL Network. This is the fifth round of talks the two sides have held and this time around they return to the home of U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, who will once again join the talks.

La Canfora reports that there is still "significant work" to be done to end the lockout.

Progress was made in the four other sessions in four different locations -- suburban Chicago, New York's Long Island, Maryland's Eastern Shore and suburban Boston -- but significant work must be done before the parties can strike a deal. Talks are expected to continue into next month, and time is of the essence.

Indeed, time is of the essence. The Bears and Rams, who will play in the Hall of Fame game on Aug. 7, open training camp on July 22, about a week before the rest of the league. 

Training camp isn't the only issue the two sides are facing as far as the schedule goes. We would like to see a decent free agency period as well so that means, ideally, the labor deal is complete and free agency is starting sometime in the second week of July.