"Like everybody else, I guess we'll see what happens this fall,'' Manning said with a smile. "In a lot of ways I kind of hope (he returns). Brett's a guy that's been such an influence on me and all young quarterbacks.

" . . . I guess part of it is kind of hope, maybe, that he finds his way back in the NFL this year.''

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers might be just such a team. The Bucs were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last season, so adding Favre could push them to Super Bowl-contending status. It doesn't hurt that Bucs coach Jon Gruden worked with Favre as an offensive assistant in Green Bay, or that Tampa Bay's offense would be somewhat familiar.

Would Thompson be willing to endure the public relations fallout? Then again, would Thompson be doing his job properly if he was offered a first-round draft choice and didn't seriously consider it?

It hasn't been a great week for the Robinson family.

First off, receiver Koren Robinson was cut by the Packers, ending his tumultuous career in Green Bay. Robinson was suspended for a year after alcohol problems but seemed to have turned his life around. Last year, he was a serviceable part of the Packers' receiving and return corps and putting behind his history of alcohol abuse.

Next comes Tariq Robinson ... Koren's brother ... who was arrested for trafficking ecstasy in Cary, NC -- just outside of Raleigh.

Koren (who starred at NC State) owns the house that Tariq lives in. The good news is that there seems to be no other link between Koren and these charges. According to WRAL, the brothers have been estranged for over a year.

While this could cause teams to pause from signing Koren ... it really shouldn't keep him from finding another gig somewhere fairly soon. Buzz is that there are teams interested and if Koren really has his ish together, he'll be fine.

McCarthy said there's a "good opportunity" that the Packers will enter the regular season with two rookies behind Aaron Rodgers. "Well, there's a good opportunity that could happen. We have a lot of work to do. It's not just at the quarterback position, but we have a lot of work to do at the football team. That's a big part of it, and we'll have them ready to play. That's our job."

Things like this scare me.

Yeah, it's the Bookie Mom again and this time she wants to chat about Brett Favre (well, before a blast about how we can get offensive lineman on draft day but not rice).

She is concerned about the Madden Curse since Favre will be the coverboy for Madden 09. Since he's retired, does it mean the curse will fly over Favre's house? Not according to Bookie Mom, who believes the real curse is having to deal with a tweenage daughter.

"Seriously, you tell me what's the curse to Brett Favre: being smushed to the turf by Brian Urlacher or trying to explain to a 10-year-old what's up with those bumps growing from her chest?"

The 31-year-old veteran quarterback visited the Packers today, and the two sides could strike a deal before this weekend's draft. Culpepper arrived in Green Bay on Tuesday evening and spent most of today at the team's facility.

The Packers have been in the market for a veteran backup quarterback ever since Brett Favre announced his retirement last month. Behind Rodgers, the Packers have only a pair of first-year quarterbacks, Jerry Babb and Dalton Bell, who have no NFL experience.