GM withheld Favre injury

New York Jets General Manager Mike Tannenbaum admitted Thursday that the team should have disclosed Brett Favre’s torn biceps tendon on mandatory weekly injury reports over the final third of last season.

Favre, now with the Minnesota Vikings, said this week he thought he was hurting the Jets because of the injury and discussed it with the coaches and the front office.

He said he would have been willing to sit out, even though that would have ended his streak of consecutive starts, which stands at 269 games.

Tannenbaum said he should have listed the quarterback as “probable” but didn’t because the injury was not severe enough to require daily treatment and there was never any doubt Favre would play.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league was investigating. In the past, such violations usually have resulted in fines. Hiding injuries could affect an opponent’s preparation, and the NFL has stepped up policing such practices.

“As the GM of this team, I should’ve handled that differently and listed him on the report,” Tannenbaum said. “We didn’t, just because he wasn’t getting treatment every day and we knew he was going to play.”

Injury update

Kansas City quarterback Matt Cassel’s sprained left knee is improving, though the Chiefs still don’t know whether he’ll be able to play Sunday against Baltimore.

Cassel practiced for the third time this week Thursday and said he’s been getting better every day. He added that it’ll probably be a game-time decision on whether he can play against the Ravens.

Arizona wide receiver Anquan Boldin briefly tested his sore hamstring, then watched the rest of practice. If Boldin can’t play in the opener against San Francisco on Sunday, the Cardinals may look to Jerheme Urban for help.

Second-year cornerback Terrell Thomas, formerly of USC, will start for the New York Giants on Sunday against the Washington Redskins because of a hamstring injury to Kevin Dockery. Dockery, who was filling in for Aaron Ross (hamstring injury), missed his second straight practice.

Personnel dept.

The Minnesota Vikings released the seventh-year veteran wide receiver Bobby Wade and signed free agent Greg Lewis instead, preferring Lewis’ versatility in the offense and on special teams.

The St. Louis Rams released linebacker Chris Draft after the 11-year veteran declined to take a pay cut in the final year of a three-year contract. The 33-year-old Draft, who attended Valencia High and Stanford, made 16 starts in two seasons with St. Louis and had been listed first on the depth chart heading into Sunday’s opener in Seattle.

Seymour watch

The Oakland Raiders re-signed defensive tackle William Joseph while Richard Seymour remained a no-show four days before the team’s season opener. Joseph was cut by the Raiders on Sunday after the team acquired Seymour from New England in exchange for its first-round draft pick in 2011.