GREEN BAY -- The local TV stations here interrupted their usual daytime programming to bring viewers live coverage of Packers general manager Ted Thompson's regular weekly training-camp news conference.

Call it replacing one soap opera with another. Thompson made a few things clear: The Packers remain steadfast in their refusal to release Brett Favre outright while getting no compensation in return; they are unwilling to trade him to an NFC North division rival; and, having only had what Thompson called "kicking of tires" conversations with other teams about a trade, they can't rule out the possibility of Favre coming to camp later this week.


Thompson said he and Favre talked twice on Saturday, in two roughly 45-minute "very professional" and "very cordial" conversations.

"We talked about different options that were available. I stated my case as to why I thought certain options were better. He certainly had his opinion on his options," Thompson said. "At the end of the day, we still have not gotten to the point where we agree on what the best option is. We have sort of agreed to disagree.

"That's one scenario, where he comes back. We've said all along -- we've never changed our message in this regard -- that with his retirement and subsequent affirmation of that retirement, we have made a commitment to move forward. He understands that. I'm not saying he's in total agreement, but as a football guy, he understands that, and that's where we are. What does that mean? Does that mean he comes back in a different role or something like that? That would just be determined as we go forward.."

Asked if Favre had given him a deadline before he would report, Thompson said, "No, he didn't. I think he used the term `a couple of days.'"

Favre has reportedly signed his reinstatement application but was holding off on faxing it to the league office after his conversations with Thompson.

After Favre was outspoken in a pair interviews Sunday, including one in which he claimed Thompson begged him not to report to training camp -- and claimed Thompson said he'd be fired if Favre did show up -- the Packers responded to Favre's potentially inflammatory remarks by vowing to stay on "the high road."

"Brett Favre and I didn't (always) agree on things, whether it was the game plan (or) this and that. I don't agree with what was in (his) quotes.. I couldn't see Ted Thompson making those statements," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "But I'm not going to sit here and referee articles and interviews."

When asked directly if he told Favre, "Brett, you can't do that - you'll get me fired," when Favre asked if he was welcome to report, Thompson replied, "That would not be my interpretation of that conversation."

Thompson said that he did tell Favre yet again that the team has moved on with new starter Aaron Rodgers, however.

"It was important for me to be perfectly honest with Brett that we have started down this path and it doesn't make sense for us to turn around and go back now. We have to continue down this path," Thompson said. "Where that leads, I don't know, but I didn't want to be dishonest or disingenuous and say `OK, we can do this,' and then change our mind. I think Brett Favre deserves more than that, so we told him the way we felt.

"We believe that this is the path that we should be on. We believe this is the best thing in the best interest of the organization, both in the short term and the long term."

That might turn out to be a trade, but a league source said as of Monday evening that the Packers were not close to a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the New York Jets, two of the leading candidates to trade for Favre.

"We've told Brett that we would work with him and obviously it would have to be an in-tandem thing to work out any sort of trade," Thompson said.

"With any trade, certainly a trade of an iconic figure like this, sometimes there are complications in there. ... I just felt like a couple of days really doesn't take any of his options away and it allows some more conversations to go forth.

"A release just doesn't make a lot of sense from the Packers' point of view. I've not heard many people say that's a good option, even people that would like to hang me in effigy outside.

"The most desirable outcome is to get to a point where the Packers can say, `We have done our job in representing the Packers. We have done our job in trying to help Brett Favre get where he wants to be.' If that means a trade, fine. If that means something else, fine. I'm not saying it's easy, but we're trying to do this so that everybody comes out of this and feels OK."

Rodgers handles the drama: McCarthy said Rodgers was "sharp" in both practices, but those who listened to his 23-minute chat at his locker would have to say Rodgers was on top of his game there, too.

"I don't think much has changed. I was declared the starter back in the off-season, and as far as I know, I'm still the guy today," Rodgers said. "(The players) are going to be behind whoever's under center. Obviously they want to see a guy who's consistent on the field on Sundays, and obviously that's going to take a few weeks to prove that to some of the older guys, but I look forward to that challenge.

"I don't need people to feel sorry for me. Playing quarterback is a tough job, and there's a lot of scrutiny that goes along with that. You get too much blame a lot of times, you get too much credit a lot of times. And you just have to stay balanced and stay even-keeled."

Asked if he thought it'd be awkward if Favre sent in his reinstatement letter and reported to camp later this week, Rodgers replied, "We got along fine. Maybe the first couple days (would be awkward). (But) I think it would be OK between us."

Thompson gave Rodgers yet another public show of support, saying, "I understand why there are people out there that think, 'Holy smokes, you're crazy.' (But) we believe this is the right direction for the Packers to go both now and in the future. ... We've made this decision, the direction we're going has been set. It will be up to history to determine whether we made the right decision."

Garcia goes with the flow, too: While Rodgers was doing his best to deflect all the Favre talk in Green Bay, Buccaneers quarterback Jeff Garcia was doing the same at the Bucs' camp in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Garcia even went so far as to joke that if Favre does end up with the Bucs, he'd be happy to sell the new guy his old house.

Garcia, who missed the first two days of practice because he was attending a reunion for his father's junior college football team, didn't even seem fazed by coach Jon Gruden's reaction to a Favre-related question earlier in the day.

Asked if he could say definitively that the Bucs have moved on from Favre and will go with Garcia as their quarterback this year, Gruden replied, "That wouldn't be fair to Brett Favre."

Well aware of Gruden's penchant for collecting quarterbacks, Garcia said later, "Jon Gruden loves quarterbacks. But he wants to date, he doesn't want to marry."

Circus canceled: With Favre delaying his comeback bid and not reporting to camp, right tackle Mark Tauscher was a little disappointed that the three-ring circus expected didn't develop.

"I was expecting elephants and different things to kind of be out there. There (were no) trapeze artists. No clowns," Tauscher said.

When someone pointed out that a man on stilts in full uniform, including very long yellow pants, was milling about, Tauscher replied, "I didn't see the stilts. I'm sure it was a good show for you guys."

Jackson shines: While unsigned starting running back Ryan Grant is at home in New York and both he and his agent are "livid" at the Packers' initial contract offer, backup Brandon Jackson spent Monday's first day of training camp trying to take advantage of Grant's absence.

"I thought Brandon had a heck of a day," McCarthy said after the nighttime practice. "I thought he was special. You're seeing what a good off-season program has done for him."

Jackson was focused on doing a better job of handling the No. 1 spot than he did last year, when he assumed the role as a rookie after de facto starter Vernand Morency went down with a knee injury on the first day of camp.

"It's like a carbon-copy from last year, but now I understand the offense, the scheme, and what I have to do as far as reads and audibles and stuff like that," Jackson said. "I'm happy I was put in that (position) last year. Because this year, things are similar, and a lot is being expected of me right now, and I'm handling it better than last year.

Jolly quiet on arrest: Defensive tackle Johnny Jolly wouldn't comment on his arrest earlier this month for felony drug possession. Jolly's next court date in Houston is Aug. 27.

"I can't get into the legal stuff right now," said Jolly, who practiced fully for the first time since a November shoulder injury ended his 2007 season. "I'm just focused on football right now. I'm here, playing football. I can't worry about that. I'm worried about my job while I'm here. That's all I can take care of right now."