Though most players won?t admit publicly that they think about issues such as retirement during the season, quarterback Brett Favre said he?s given his future some thought this year. He also reiterated that the Packers? performance this season won?t be a major factor in his decision whether to play next year. ?I have thought about it,? Favre said. ?Just because we?re 2-9, it hasn?t swayed my decision one way or the other direction. I had a feeling three weeks into it (this could be a tough season), six weeks into it. But it is what it is. I won?t make a decision based on the fact we?re 2-9.?

Green Bay Packers tight end Bubba Franks left Sunday's game against Philadelphia with a neck injury. Franks, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, was carried off the field on a stretcher after a hard hit from Eagles safety Brian Dawkins on an incomplete pass early in the second quarter. Franks had movement in all his extremities. He felt tingling in both of his shoulders and was having X-rays on his neck at the stadium. The game was delayed about eight minutes. Franks waved his left hand to the crowd and the fans cheered as he left the field.

To Mike Flanagan, the mere suggestion was preposterous. Even with the Green Bay Packers' season going nowhere in the final six weeks. Sit Brett Favre? To let heir apparent Aaron Rodgers get some experience? "That's the dumbest (expletive) thing I've ever heard," said Flanagan, the Packers' veteran center and Favre's teammate for the past 10 years. "This is Brett Favre's team until he decides he doesn't want to play anymore and wants to retire. You don't sacrifice games, you don't sacrifice seasons just so you can have a guy with a little more experience for the years to come. "This team came from 30 years of losing because of Brett Favre, and he's doing everything he can - he always has and he always will - to help this team win. And to even imply that someone else should come in to even give him a breather or do anything to prepare for the future is just a slap in the face. If Brett wants to sit down, if Brett decides this, that's one thing. This is his team." Now, let's be clear here. Coach Mike Sherman said essentially the same thing Wednesday, saying, "I don't consider that right now. "We're going to play to win. If we were to (play Rodgers), there would be an assumption that Brett wasn't going to be here next year. I'm not making that assumption right now," Sherman added. "Unless (Favre) were to tell me that, (then) maybe things would change. But, he has not demonstrated that - by his words, by his actions or by his deeds. He's playing hard. He's as into it as I've ever seen him. He has no diminishing skills."

Green Bay Packers receiver Robert Ferguson's knee injury isn't as serious as originally thought, and coach Mike Sherman hasn't ruled him out of playing against Minnesota on Monday night. Ferguson, who has missed the last three games, had tests Saturday that revealed an aggravation of a bruise in the left knee, stemming from the torn lateral-collateral ligament. Some teammates had speculated that Ferguson may have aggravated the LCL tear during practice Friday. "I thought it might have been (a major setback). But, no," Sherman said Saturday. "He had very little swelling today, and everything was real tight in the examination." /

Green Bay Packers receiver Robert Ferguson re-injured his left knee Friday and was carted off the field just one day after returning to practice. Ferguson missed the last three games after tearing a ligament in the knee during a 23-20 loss at Minnesota on Oct. 23. He is expected to be evaluated further on Saturday, team spokesman Aaron Popkey said late Friday afternoon. Coach Mike Sherman wasn't made available to reporters Friday. He is expected to update Ferguson's status during his scheduled news conference Saturday after practice. "It's just bad luck. There's nothing we can do about it," receiver Donald Driver said of the spate of injuries to Green Bay's offensive players this season. "How do you get good luck? Do you need to do something, give somebody a gift or something? I don't know. But, right now, it just seems like it's not going our way."

The Green Bay Packers activated cornerback Patrick Dendy from the practice roster Saturday, one day after injured running back Walt Williams was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. Dendy, a 6-foot, 190-pound rookie from Rice, was signed by the Packers in April. He had seven tackles and broke up one pass in the preseason before being released in late August. He was signed a week later to the practice squad. Williams, re-signed Oct. 25 to shore up the team's backfield, injured his left hamstring Thursday as the 1-7 Packers practiced for Sunday's game against the Falcons in Atlanta.

Brett Favre took a day off at the coach's request. He didn't try to argue. "I just kind of feel lethargic," the three-time MVP said Wednesday. "I could have practiced, I would have been fine. It would have been tough." The Packers haven't been 1-7 since Favre was 17 -- and he never lost more than eight games in any of his previous 13 seasons in Green Bay. Green Bay has used 11 rookies this season, mainly because the battered offense lost three of its top players -- running backs Ahman Green (thigh tendon) and Najeh Davenport (ankle) and wide receiver Javon Walker (knee) -- for the year with injuries. Pro Bowl tight end Bubba Franks (knee) missed three starts, and Pro Bowl center Mike Flanagan (sports hernia) missed two more.

Ben Roethlisberger's right knee injury apparently isn't serious, but Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher wasn't ready to say if his quarterback will be ready to play Sunday in Green Bay. Roethlisberger underwent an MRI exam Tuesday, about 12 hours after the Steelers' 20-19 victory over Baltimore, and was given a preliminary diagnosis of a strained posterior capsule. The injury affects the range of motion of the knee and can be very painful. "All ligaments are fine, and we'll get a further update as the week goes on," Cowher said Tuesday. "There's nothing serious coming out of the game as we speak. ... Hopefully it's something he can continue to work through, and we'll rest him when we can and see where he is at the end of the week."