540MINUTES

By CHRIS JENKINS

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Brett Favre left Lambeau Field just before Green Bay Packers practice Tuesday afternoon, taking a right turn out of the stadium's back gate — away from the field where the rest of his teammates were assembling for drills.

Favre emerged from the stadium's loading dock exit at 2:34 p.m. EDT Tuesday, hugging Packers senior security advisor Jerry Parins before getting in his SUV and driving away. Shortly after, an SUV driven by Packers general manager Ted Thompson left the gate heading in the same direction.

"We're at a stalemate," Favre told ESPN Tuesday morning. "Mike and I both agreed last night that me being out there is a distraction and will continue to be a distraction. We all know the reason I'm here is because the commissioner reinstated me so we have a lot of things to figure out. It's simple and complicated, both at the same time."

The continued disagreement on Favre's role could accelerate trade talks, perhaps with the Minnesota Vikings — something Packers officials have suspected Favre wanted all along but have been firmly opposed to giving him.

Favre was back at Lambeau earlier Tuesday, less than 12 hours after a late-night meeting between Favre and Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy concluded. Not that the two necessarily reached any conclusions.

Favre and McCarthy were supposed to talk about Favre's commitment to football and his role on the team Monday night. The fact that the meeting ran several hours over its allotted time was a strong hint that it went beyond simply welcoming Favre back to compete with Aaron Rodgers for the starting job.

Favre told ESPN he doesn't have a problem with competing with Rodgers for the starting job, and can "truly understand" why McCarthy would make Rodgers the starter. But Favre also said a competition "probably isn't going to work" and that "the problem is that there's been a lot of damage done and I can't forget it."

Favre's role still in doubt, practice unlikely....