Brett Favre looks sharp and ready to roll into his 17th NFL season with some of his young teammates. For Vince Young and LenDale White, the future is now. Young threw for a touchdown and ran for another for a second straight week, White added 77 total yards, and they helped the Titans wrap up the preseason by beating Favre and the Packers 30-14 Thursday night.

A relieved Ted Thompson left the distinct impression Friday that wide receiver Donald Driver would be available in 15 days when the Green Bay Packers open the regular season against Philadelphia. Driver, who did not meet with reporters, was wearing a boot to protect his sprained right foot. He was examined by team physician Patrick McKenzie, whose best guess is that Driver will play against the Eagles, according to the general manager. "That's what we think will probably happen," Thompson said. "You never know, but we feel pretty good right now. We're lucky."

The Green Bay Packers lost their unbeaten preseason record in a 21-13 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lambeau Field on Thursday night.

The Vikings signed WR Robert Ferguson on Tuesday. Ferguson, a 2nd round draft choice in 2001, is entering his 7th season in the NFL. He has spent all 6 of his previous seasons with the Packers.

Wide receiver Robert Ferguson's injury-marred career with the Packers is over, coach Mike McCarthy said after practice Thursday night. He said the team has decided to cut ties with the seven-year veteran, although he didn't say how that would be accomplished. Ferguson, a second-round selection of the Packers in the 2001 draft, wasn't on the practice field for the second of Thursday's two practices. "Robert will no longer be a Packer. We're going to go another direction," McCarthy said.

Brad Johnson, Trent Dilfer, Steve DeBerg and Jim Harbaugh were asked to manage football games. Brett Favre was asked to win them. But winds of change are blowing through the National Football League's smallest city these days. Favre has made precious few of those "wow" throws that marked his first 15 summers with the Green Bay Packers, but the head coach remains unconcerned. "In '99 there'd be one a day where you'd go, 'Holy (bleep), I can't believe he made that throw,' " Mike McCarthy said Tuesday. "It's not like the old days, but to me that's good, because I don't need him to play like a wild stallion anymore. We're not built that way."

Mike Tomlin won't have much to remember from this one, and he could only give thanks it didn't count. Brett Favre and Ben Roethlisberger also had forgettable showings on a scoreless night for the Green Bay and Pittsburgh starting offenses. Neither Roethlisberger nor Favre did much as the Packers' and Steelers' regulars were shut out in little less than a quarter's playing time, with backup Aaron Rodgers throwing a touchdown pass and leading two other scoring drives in Green Bay's 13-9 exhibition victory Saturday night.

If his body holds up and his mind stays willing, Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver could become one of the top pass catchers in team history. And one of the richest, also. After the second Pro Bowl season of his eight-year career, the 32-year-old Driver has been rewarded again with a contract extension that adds almost $11 million in new money to his existing contract, according to a source with access to NFL Players Association salary data. Much of the money - $7.2 million - is contained in the extra year added to the deal, which might not be earned because Driver will be 35 going into that season.

Brett Favre rejoined the Packers on Thursday with a heavy heart and a desire to resume preparations for the upcoming season. The quarterback was excused from Packers practices earlier in the week to return home to Mississippi for the funeral services of his wife's stepfather, Rocky Byrd, who died Saturday after suffering a heart attack.