GREEN BAY -- If you've read our Milwaukee Talks conversation with Aaron Rodgers, you know the Green Bay Packers' new starting quarterback enjoys the occasional "Law & Order" rerun.

Well, he and his teammates are about to find out that TNT isn't the only place that knows drama. Packers training camp is on the verge of a marathon episode of it.

What has to be the organization's nightmare scenario is one step closer to happening after retired-for-now quarterback Brett Favre faxed his reinstatement paperwork into the NFL offices in New York while practice was going on on Tuesday. The league later confirmed receiving it around 5 p.m. Eastern time.

"That's obviously the first step of Brett coming back," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said after practice. "So we'll deal with that when he's reinstated and we'll definitely have a plan in order. We'll address everything as far as the details of how Brett Favre fits into our future plans when he arrives here in Green Bay.

"Brett Favre is still a very good football player. He's an asset to our football team. The plans for Brett Favre will be discussed with Brett Favre first and then we'll make it aware to the public.

"There are no ill feelings toward Brett Favre and he will be welcome back in our locker room."

Maybe not. A team source said late Tuesday night that the team had chartered a private jet to fly president Mark Murphy down to Hattiesburg, Miss., where he will meet with Favre and his agent, James "Bus" Cook, at Cook's office this morning in an effort to dissuade Favre from coming to Green Bay.

The flight departed Green Bay's Austin Straubel airport at 9:33 p.m. and arrived in Hattiesburg shortly before midnight.

When Favre filed his paperwork, the Packers released an official statement, which read simply, "We have been advised that a letter of reinstatement has been received by the league office. As with all matters like these, any questions should be referred to the Commissioner's office."

NFL spokesman Randall Liu said the league had not acted upon Favre's request as of close of business Tuesday, but commissioner Roger Goodell has already said he will grant Favre's reinstatement.

When Goodell officially reinstates Favre, presumably some time Wednesday, it would run on the league's daily transaction wire. That would then start the clock on the Packers' 24-hour window to release Favre, trade him or put him back on the 80-man roster.

"Aaron's the guy, then you've got a guy who used to be the guy," director of football operations Reggie McKenzie said. "So how are you going to handle that?"

The Packers practice at 8:45 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday but do not have practice on Thursday, one of McCarthy's designated "recovery" days on which the players have meetings and walk-throughs but no on-field practice time. Favre's first chance to get onto the field would presumably be Friday, when the team again practices in the morning and evening.

However, when he arrives, Favre will be put through a physical and then the running test the players went through last Sunday. That, in theory, would keep him off the field another day and buy the team more time to strike a deal with one of the two non-NFC North teams most interested in Favre -- the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Jets -- or another club.

"He'll come in and go through a physical and then he'll be evaluated," McCarthy said. "He'll have a running test to see where is conditioning is and we'll evaluate that, then we'll have a practice plan."

Sooner or later, the team would have to let Favre on the field if a deal can't get done. One would think the team would want to complete a trade before Sunday night's intrasquad scrimmage at Lambeau Field, where roughly 60,000 fans would potentially be watching Favre and new starter Aaron Rodgers go head-to-head.

"They'll burn the place down," one player said.

Rodgers didn't seem fazed by the latest development. Either he's putting up a good front or he has been through so much that nothing shakes him at this point.

"He's not here yet. I think we're still dealing with a hypothetical at the moment," Rodgers said. "I've been empowered as the starting quarterback, and until that changes, I'll say it again, that's going to be my focus.

"You know, I'm not as affected as you guys think I am or should be."

A house divided? Rodgers also said that he doesn't think the return of Favre would splinter the team into pro-Favre and pro-Rodgers factions.

"There's not anything that's going to get between the guys in the locker room," he said. "We're a tight-knit group, and the guys are going to get behind whoever's under center."

That seems a bit idealistic. There will be at least some difference of opinion among the players on whether Favre or Rodgers should be the starter if Favre isn't traded in the next few days and indeed comes to camp.

"I'm not going to sit here and tell you it's not a distraction, but it's only a distraction if we let it be a distraction," McCarthy said. "It's an external problem, and that's really the way we view it. Now we have to deal with it."

Asked if he is concerned about any division in the locker room, McCarthy replied, "I'm not concerned about it. We have talked about it as a football team. The players are handling it totally different than I think the perception is out there. We're about playing football. We're about getting ready for our season."
Perhaps, but even within the receiving corps, there were different takes.

While third-year receiver Greg Jennings tried to stay neutral -- "It's going to be an interesting situation," he said, "and we'll see what they do upstairs" -- 10-year vet Donald Driver was clearly happy about the Favre news.

"We'll handle it fine," Driver said. "We'll welcome him in, he's back in business, and when we come in we'll just pick up where we left off."

That sounded starkly different than the reaction of second-year man James Jones, who worked out with Rodgers in Southern California this off-season and said, "I have a better relationship with Aaron than I do with Brett, but the organization is going to do what they're going to do. I have no say-so. I just have to catch passes, whoever is throwing them."

The end zone: For all the attention the Favre saga is getting, cornerback Charles Woodson, who left the field jokingly chanting "We want Favre!" after practice, said the greater issue is the absence of unsigned halfback Ryan Grant. "My concern really is Ryan Grant. When do we get that guy in camp? Because he's just as big a part of our offense as Brett is," Woodson said. "I should've said, `We want Ryan Grant.' Hopefully that gets worked out."... Rodgers admitted "I didn't have my best day" on Tuesday, when he threw his second interception in as many days when Woodson stepped in front of a slant pass intended for Jennings. ... The left guard battle has begun. After incumbent Daryn Colledge worked with the No. 1 offensive line during both practices on Monday, challenger Allen Barbre was with the first unit on Tuesday.