'Thanks for great 8 years': Barnett says time with Pack is over

Jim Prisching / Associated PressNick Barnett's time in Green Bay appears over after eight seasons with the team.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Nick Barnett waved as he drove out of the parking lot, marking what appears to be the fiery linebacker's last time at Lambeau Field as a player for the Green Bay Packers.

Barnett was among the first Packers to return to Lambeau when the doors to team facilities re-opened to players on Tuesday morning. He didn't stay long and then posted a series of messages on his Twitter account making it clear he had been told his time with the Packers is over.

"Just met with Ted," Barnett posted, presumably referring to Packers general manager Ted Thompson. "Thanks for the great 8 years."

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Barnett said he was "very blessed" to be a part of "such a great tradition and great fans."

Barnett, who finished last season on injured reserve after hurting his right wrist Oct. 3, said he was happy to be part of the team's run to the Super Bowl championship last season and "will always keep a special place in my heart for this team and city."

Barnett did not speak to reporters as he left Lambeau. He did stop on his way in earlier Tuesday morning, saying he was ready to play.

"We could start right now, man," Barnett said. "I'm ready to go. My wrist should be cleared. I saw 'doc' about a couple months ago, he said it was fine. We'll see what happens. Physically, I'm ready to go. Mentally, I'm ready to go. Emotionally, I'm ready to go."

Before heading into Lambeau, Barnett shrugged off recent speculation that he would be traded or cut.

"To be honest, a lot of the talk hasn't come from anybody in here, it's come from (the media)," Barnett said. "So I'll wait for them to come talk to me, I'm sure my agent will talk to them, I'll let them handle that business. But for me, I just prepare, (get) ready to play and see what happens. I've got two years left on my contract, so I'm not really focused on the rumors."

Barnett has been a cornerstone of the defense since the Packers took him in the first round of the 2003 draft. He has started 107 regular season and six playoff games in eight seasons.

But his relationship with the team was strained during last year's Super Bowl run. When Barnett found out that injured players wouldn't be a part of the Packers' team photo taken a few days before the Super Bowl, Barnett voiced complaints on his Twitter account. The team eventually relented and allowed injured players to participate in the photo, but the issue became a distraction as the team prepared for the game against the Steelers.

Barnett also has finished two of the past three seasons on injured reserve, including a season-ending right knee injury in 2008.

And given that the team signed Desmond Bishop to a contract extension late last season, and reworked A.J. Hawk's deal in March, Barnett's $5 million-plus salary may have been prohibitive for a player who would be expected to be a backup at inside linebacker.

Packers officials are not commenting on Barnett's status. Teams can trade players beginning Tuesday and cut players Thursday.

Several other Packers players were at Lambeau, including Donald Driver, wide receiver Brett Swain and tight end Tom Crabtree. The Packers open training camp Friday and have their first practice Saturday.

"It's good to be back, get everything over with and just come back and feel welcome again," Swain said. "Get back in the roll of things and get camp started."

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Swain said he wanted to work out and see assistant coach Edgar Bennett, who is making the transition from coaching running backs to wide receivers this season.

"For sure, I'm going to go up and see him and see most of the coaches," Swain said. "Just get off on a good foot and start camp in a good light. Just look forward to everything."

Swain said it will be a challenge to get ready for the season after not having any offseason workouts.

"It's going to be very challenging," Swain said. "That's where the coaching staff comes in, and they're going to set us on a good schedule and we're going to roll with it. I think everything's going to come together well."

Rookie Randall Cobb, a second-round wide receiver from Kentucky, said he isn't sure how far behind he'll be once camps starts.

"I have no clue," Cobb said. "That's why I'm here so early, trying to get in as much as I can right now."

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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Gaither's back 'feeling great'; OT eyes return to lineup

Agent Drew Rosenhaus says his client Jared Gaither, the hulking 6-foot-9, 340-pound offensive tackle who missed all last season for the Baltimore Ravens with an upper back injury, has made a full recovery.

"Jared Gaither's back is totally healed," Rosenhaus tweeted Saturday. "He's had a great offseason and will have a bounce back yr. He's back to full strength & ready to go."

"Basically, I'm cleared," Gaither confirmed to the Carroll County Times. "I just have to be cleared by the ballclub and take that physical. I'm doing a lot better. I'm feeling great. I can't wait for next season."

Despite Gaither's rehabilitation, his status with the team is in limbo after spending most of last season on injured reserve -- and the lingering NFL lockout only muddies those waters.

Under last year's rules, Gaither stands as a restricted free agent. Under a new collective bargaining agreement, the four-year veteran could be an unrestricted free agent, in which case the team is unlikely to furnish him a lucrative contract with injury red flags waving, the Times reported.

"I have no control over that, and I just hope everything gets worked out," Gaither told the Times after last season, saying he's leaving his contract status for Rosenhaus to figure out. "However that works out, if they do tender me or don't, there's not that much I can do about that. I'm prepared for anything. You just don't know what's going to happen."

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome is taking a wait-and-see approach to Gaither's future, noting that as a restricted free agent, Gaither would remain part of the team and "if he's healthy, he'd get a chance to come back and start."

Gaither's started 28 games for the Ravens since being selected in the fifth round 2007 NFL Supplemental Draft, most all of them at left tackle, where he's comfortable playing. Despite the emergence of Michael Oher at that position, Gaither told the Times it matters to him to stick in the spot that feels like home.

"Yeah, it does," Gaither said. "I've been playing left tackle my whole career. It wouldn't make much sense to change now and get a whole new position underway at this point in time."

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Steelers great Bradshaw, QB Roethlisberger talk out issues

Terry Bradshaw repeatedly criticized Ben Roethlisberger during an offseason of trouble for the Pittsburgh Steelers' current quarterback.

Now, they say, it's all water under the bridge.

Roethlisberger revealed Tuesday that he and Bradshaw, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, mended their relationship after a recent sit-down. Bradshaw is in Texas to help FOX broadcast Super Bowl XLV, in which the Steelers will face the Green Bay Packers, and had a 25-minute interview with Roethlisberger for the network.

"We had a private talk before the interview," said Roethlisberger, who added that Bradshaw might have spoken a little too soon about the quarterback's situation. "A good talk. Everything's good."

Everything wasn't so good before the season, when Roethlisberger was accused of sexually assaulting a Georgia college student following a night of drinking in a Milledgeville, Ga., bar on March 5. Roethlisberger wasn't charged by Georgia authorities, but NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell handed the quarterback a six-game suspension for violating the league's personal-conduct policy.

Before Goodell reduced the ban to four games, Bradshaw said he hoped the suspension would be upheld.

"Going to bars -- treating women like that; oh my God," Bradshaw told The Shreveport Times in September. "I pray they don't cut (his NFL suspension) to four games. I hope they leave it at six. There is no excuse for that. The egos get out of hand."

Those comments followed Bradshaw's April criticism of Roethlisberger, in which he ended: "Now he hates me forever."

What a difference time makes. Bradshaw told NFL Network's "NFL Total Access" on Tuesday that he and Roethlisberger -- the only Steelers quarterbacks to win Super Bowl titles -- had a "great" chat that lasted about 10 minutes before the interview.

"It was important that he know and the things that I say and why I say them," said Bradshaw, who has four Super Bowl rings compared to Roethlisberger's two. "It's important that we have a good relationship. I'm glad."

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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Former Titans great George calls out team for lack of effort

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