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Report says Favre will be at camp

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From Times Staff and Wire Reports

Brett Favre turned up the heat on the Green Bay Packers on Friday, telling them he plans to show up Sunday for the start of training camp, according to an NFL Network report.

Poker, anyone?

The Packers, who have made it clear they’re moving forward with Aaron Rodgers as their quarterback, have compiled a list of teams that might trade for Favre. In a recent interview with Greta Van Susteren, Favre essentially called Packers General Manager Ted Thompson a liar and indicated he cannot trust him.

Reports Friday by ESPN and Fox said Tampa Bay and the New York Jets have requested and received permission from the Packers to talk to Favre, who retired in March but wants to return to football.

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In his first news conference at Tampa Bay’s training camp Friday, Coach Jon Gruden praised Favre but downplayed the possibility of the Buccaneers trading for him.

“You’re talking about a great quarterback,” Gruden said. “One of the great quarterbacks in my era and in a lot of our eras. His accomplishments speak for themselves. The last I heard and the last I checked, he is a Green Bay Packer -- has been and probably will for the rest of his career.”

Gruden also emphasized that Jeff Garcia remains his team’s starting quarterback.

Earlier this week, however, Buccaneers quarterback Chris Simms told the St. Petersburg Times that Tampa Bay General Manager Bruce Allen asked him how Favre would fare in the team’s offense with limited practice time.

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“He asked if I felt Brett would be able to come back and be good here if he didn’t have a lot of reps in training camp,” Simms told the newspaper. “I said I thought he would, but there would have to be some compromise with Coach Gruden. He’ll just want the play called and to drop back and throw it in there.”

Meanwhile on Friday, Jets Coach Eric Mangini refused to confirm or deny whether his team had requested to speak with Favre.

Mangini told reporters that he and General Manager Mike Tannenbaum “talk every night about a lot of different things. That’s normal operating procedure for us.”

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-- Sam Farmer

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Lawrence Jackson, the speedy defensive end and first-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks out of USC, agreed to a deal worth $11.25 million over five years, a person familiar with the deal told the Associated Press. . . . Chicago Bears kick return star Devin Hester reported to training camp, ending his holdout while negotiations on a new contract continued. . . . St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson, entering the final year of his contract, was a no-show at training camp. . . . The Oakland Raiders released running back LaMont Jordan after being unable to trade him. . . . The Dallas Cowboys said they will waive receiver Terry Glenn, who resisted signing an injury clause after missing most of last season because of a knee injury.

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