NFL NOTEBOOK
Published 11:01 pm Thursday, July 31, 2008
HATTIESBURG, Miss. — NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is giving the Green Bay Packers and Brett Favre at least one more day to resolve their standoff before granting the quarterback his reinstatement.
Meanwhile, a pair of potential solutions were emerging.
The Wisconsin State Journal and ESPN reported that Favre was considering a 10-year, $20 million marketing and licensing deal offer from the Packers — and staying retired. And the Green Bay Press-Gazette reported the Packers were in “serious” discussions with the New York Jets about a trade.
The State Journal report said the Packers’ deal, which was reported by multiple media outlets after team president and CEO Mark Murphy met with Favre and Cook in Mississippi on Wednesday, went on the table soon after Favre retired in March and wasn’t a last-ditch attempt to pay Favre to stay away from training camp.
Once Favre is reinstated, the Packers will have 24 hours to decide whether to cut him or restore him to their active roster.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Thursday that Packers officials have had internal discussions about trading Favre to the Minnesota Vikings or Chicago Bears as a “last resort” to resolve the smoldering controversy.
Notes
NFL: Free agent wide receiver Chris Henry was suspended by the NFL for four games but may play the final 12 games of the regular season for any team that signs him. Henry was released by Cincinnati in April after his fifth arrest.
DOLPHINS: Miami worked out former Dallas quarterback Quincy Carter. Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said the workout is merely an evaluation of Carter, an Arena Football League quarterback who started for the Cowboys and New York Jets before poor play and drug-related arrests ended his NFL career.
GIANTS: A report in a Virginia newspaper states New York running back Ahmad Bradshaw would have to serve another 30 days in jail after the NFL season because of an old probation violation. The second-year running back was released from the Abingdon (Va.) Regional Jail on July 13 after serving most of a 30-day sentence. The Bristol Herald Courier reported Thursday the incarceration was the first of a two-part jail sentence sandwiched around the upcoming NFL season. A league spokesman said: “We are now confirming that based on our investigation he will not be suspended for conduct that occurred prior to his NFL career.”
TITANS: Tennessee released wide receiver Mike Williams. The Titans signed Williams, the 10th overall pick in the 2005 draft by the Detroit Lions, last Thanksgiving and told him after the season to get his weight and conditioning under control. Williams weighed around 270 pounds when he signed with Tennessee and lost more than 30 pounds this offseason in an effort to salvage his career. But conditioning, weight and endurance remained issues for the former USC star, who had unsuccessfully petitioned the NFL for early entrance into the 2004 draft.
