GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Wide receiver Robert Ferguson's
injury-marred career with the Green Bay 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.
Asked if Ferguson would be traded, McCarthy responded,
"Possible."
The team also could release Ferguson, who is under contract
through 2008.
"We're actually talking to a few teams about Robert. That's
where we're at with him," McCarthy said. "So, we asked him not to
practice this evening. We'll have a decision on exactly what his
future is in the morning."
Ferguson started 26 games in six seasons, but injuries kept him
from staying healthy for a full season in recent years. The only
year he played all 16 games was 2002.
He had a career-high 38 catches and four touchdowns in 2003,
when he started 12 games.
The former Texas A&M standout suffered a season-ending foot
injury in Week 4 last year. He was lost to a knee injury in the
final weeks of the 2005 season.
The most notable setback came late in 2004.
Jacksonville safety Donovin Darius laid out Ferguson with a
clothesline hit as the receiver caught a pass from Brett Favre at
Lambeau Field. Ferguson temporarily lost feeling in his extremities
and was taken to a Green Bay hospital.
Ferguson suffered head and neck injuries and didn't play the
rest of that season.
The Packers had signed Ferguson to a four-year contract
extension before the 2004 season.
On Thursday, he participated in the early walk-through portion
of Green Bay's morning practice but was held out of the subsequent
drills.
McCarthy said he met with Ferguson at 5 p.m. Thursday and
informed him of the decision.
"Just like I told him today, I think Robert Ferguson's a
talented young man," McCarthy said. "I thought he busted his
[butt] the whole time he was here. I thought he was a true
professional. But, we've gone in another direction. ... We're just
moving on with the other guys."
Ferguson entered training camp faced with competition from
several young receivers on the roster.
Donald Driver and Greg Jennings are the incumbent starters.
James Jones, a third-round draft pick this year, has been
impressive early in the preseason and appears to be the top
candidate to win the No. 3 receiver spot.
The Packers figure to keep five or six receivers entering the
season next month.
"We feel good about what the other guys are doing," McCarthy
said. "I think Ruvell Martin's had an excellent camp. I think
Carlyle Holiday has had a very good camp, and I think he really
stepped out on special teams [in the first preseason game].
"As you get down the line, particularly in any position groups,
the special teams are going to factor. That's every position."
Ferguson had two catches in the preseason opener, a 13-9 win at
Pittsburgh.