By Chris Jenkins
Associated Press
GREEN BAY, Wis. ó With the Brett Favre standoff still simmering, Aaron Rodgers took his place Monday as the Packersí new starting quarterback.
Rodgers is trying to ignore what has become a daily soap opera involving the three-time MVP. Favre is considering filing for reinstatement with the NFL and reporting to camp this week, a move likely intended to pressure Green Bay to grant him his release ó something the Packers refuse to do ó or trade him.
The NFL had not received reinstatement paperwork from Favre as of Monday evening.
iI feel like this is really between Brett and the organization, and Iím just trying to stay focused on the things I can control,î Rodgers said after the teamís first practice at camp.
General manager Ted Thompson spoke twice with Favre on Saturday, for about 45 minutes each time. They decided it would be best for Favre to stay away from Green Bay for now.
iWe still have not gotten to the point where we agree on what the best option is,î Thompson said Monday. iWe have sort of agreed to disagree, and at that time he suggested he would probably delay coming to training camp for at least a couple of days to see how things worked out.î
The Packers arenít going to allow Favre to play for an NFC North rival and arenít going to trade him without getting value in return. And Favre might not want to play for any of the teams showing interest, a group that includes Tampa Bay and the New York Jets. Thompson acknowledged talking to other teams.
iThere have been some ëkicking of tiresí-type conversations,î he said.
Favre wants to be released, something Thompson opposes. The Packers hold Favreís rights until his contract expires after the 2010 season.
iA release just doesnít make a lot of sense from the Packersí point of view,î Thompson said. iIíve not heard many people say thatís a good option ó even people that would like to hang me in effigy outside.î
The Packers have filed tampering charges against Minnesota, suspecting Favreís latest flip-flop on his future was spurred mainly by interest from the Vikings.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is trying to help the sides reach a settlement.
iIím glad to see that there are productive discussions and theyíre talking directly to one another,î Goodell said from Buffalo Bills training camp Monday. iTheyíre both important to the league going forward, and Iím hopeful theyíll reach a proper resolution.î
Goodell said the league was working toward a resolution of the tampering investigation.
Thompson said Favre wanted people to know he doesnít want to become a distraction.
iHis reasoning behind that is he cares very much about this team, cares about these players, his former teammates, so he doesnít want to do anything to disrupt from that,î Thompson said.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy downplayed that possibility.
iWe talked about it as a team yesterday,î he said. iI donít foresee Brett Favre coming in here as a problem. Brett Favre is a big part of the Green Bay Packers history, and he may be a part of the future as we move forward. Thatís an option that he has if he reinstates.î
Thompson reiterated if Favre were to return to the Packers, it would not be as the starter. Thompson also did not make much of the idea of an open competition.
iWe have to continue down this path,î Thompson said. iWhere that leads, I donít know, but I didnít want to be dishonest or disingenuous and say ëOK, we can do this and then change our mind.í I think Brett Favre deserves more than that, so we told him the way we felt.î
Veteran offensive tackle Mark Tauscher lauded Rodgers for his handling of an iuncomfortable situation.î
iI think heís really taken the reins of what weíre doing here,î Tauscher said. iI think everybody in this locker room has a lot of confidence in what he can do.î