EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Brett Favre is still stinging from that painful loss to the Saints in the NFC title game three months ago — so much so that it’s a factor in his decision to return to the Vikings next season.
The Vikings quarterback issued a statement on his website Friday saying that his left ankle is still hurting and will require surgery if he wants to return for Minnesota. But he said the injury “is not debilitating” and he’s come through far worse in a 19-year career.
“I don’t believe major surgery on the ankle would be required for me to return in 2010,” Favre wrote. “I’ve consulted with Dr. (James) Andrews on the phone, and a relatively minor procedure could be done to improve the dexterity of the ankle, and to relieve the pain. I’ve put up with pain worse than this in my career, and I didn’t want anyone to assume that the possibility of surgery was the sole factor that would determine whether I return or not.”
Favre, who will turn 41 in October, has turned the waiting game into an art form late in his career, and it appears this summer will be no different.
Bryant ready to move on
IRVING, Texas — Cowboys rookie receiver Dez Bryant said he’s done talking about being asked by Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland in a predraft interview if his mother was ever a prostitute.
“I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to talk about the Cowboys and what I’m doing. I put that in the past,” Bryant said. “I’m just going to move on.”
Meanwhile, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross gave Ireland a vote of confidence and said he considers “the matter closed.”
“Jeff Ireland is a man of great capability and integrity and he is well deserving of my continued confidence,” Ross said.
Another twist came when , citing unnamed sources, reported Ireland asked Bryant if his mother was a prostitute as a follow-up to other answers provided by the receiver from Oklahoma State.
The report cited an alleged exchange in which Bryant was asked what his father did for a living when the receiver was growing up, and he responded his dad was a pimp. When Bryant was then asked what his mother did and answered that she worked for his dad, Ireland asked if she was a prostitute.
Asked about that report, Bryant responded: “That was a lie.”
Russell shows up at Raiders open minicamp
ALAMEDA, Calif. — The questions about JaMarcus Russell’s immediate future in Oakland were answered when he took the field for a minicamp with newly acquired Jason Campbell and the rest of his Raiders teammates.
Still unclear is the long-term future for the former No. 1 overall pick.
The team acquired Campbell in a trade with the Washington Redskins last weekend. There were reports Russell could be cut before training camp or held out of the workouts to avoid an injury.
But Russell was out there working with Campbell, Charlie Frye and Kyle Boller as the Raiders had their first formal on-field workout of the offseason.
“My thing is to keep coming out to work until they tell me not to,” Russell said. “I’m going to keep coming out to compete for the job and work my tail off.”
When the team did its first 11-on-11 drills, it was Frye who took the first snaps, followed by Russell, Campbell and Boller.
“Means nothing,” coach Tom Cable said. “Don’t look anything into that. If you do, you’re wasting ink.”
Meanwhile, Cable said the team is negotiating a long-term deal with free-agent defensive lineman Richard Seymour.
The Raiders placed the exclusive franchise tag designation on Seymour in February. That prohibited him from negotiating with other teams and guaranteed him $12.398 million for the 2010 season.
Seymour was paid about $3.7 million in 2009 after being acquired in a trade from New England just before the start of the season. He had four sacks in 15 games for Oakland.
Seahawks receivers undergo surgeries
RENTON, Wash. — Seahawks wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh is recuperating from hernia surgery, and former Super Bowl MVP Deion Branch just had his third knee surgery in a little more than two years.
Coach Pete Carroll said there’s “always concerns” whenever a knee is operated on for a third time, but that Branch’s arthroscopic surgery last week was a “very minor” cleanup. The Associated Press
