Notebook: Packers put Favre on retired list

Minicamp is set for mid-June, with training camp opening on July 28

Brett Favre hasn’t submitted the official paperwork in the six weeks since he announced his retirmenent, but that didn’t stop the Packers from putting Favre on the NFL’s reserve/retired list on Friday.

“Both (coach) Mike McCarthy and I have spoken to Brett over the past several days,” Packers general manager Ted Thompson said in a press release. “Brett knew this change in his roster status was coming, and he fully understood our need to make the move in advance of the NFL draft.”

The move erases Favre's $11.4 million salary-cap number off the books. That puts the Packers about $32.55 million under the salary cap.

“The NFL does not require a letter for a player to be placed in a reserve/retired status. Brett has announced his retirement publicly and this is simply a personnel transaction made to develop a roster opportunity for the Packers,” Thompson said.

More roster moves

The Green Bay Packers released guard Tony Palmer on Thursday.

Palmer was placed on season-ending injured reserve after suffering a neck injury during the Packers’ Week 2 victory at the New York Giants. He reportedly failed a physical this week.

At 6-foot-2 and 311 pounds, Palmer — a physical run blocker — hoped to contend for one of the Packers’ in-flux guard positions during training camp.

Also, the Packers released offensive tackles Cliff Washburn and Chris Patrick. Patrick spent last season on the Packers’ practice squad, while Washburn was added to the practice squad on Jan. 8.

Those roster moves leave the Packers with 68 players. The roster limit is 80. Undrafted free agents signed on Sunday and Monday will count toward that limit. The draft picks — the Packers have eight heading into Saturday — will not count until they are signed.

Camp schedule

The Packers announced the dates for their organized team activities, minicamps and training camp earlier in the week.

The three-day rookie minicamp will start on Friday, May 2, with practices inside the Don Hutson Center.

There will be only one mandatory minicamp this year. The three-day camp will begin on Tuesday, June 17, and will be conducted on Ray Nitschke Field and be open to the public, weather permitting.

In between, there will be four weeks of OTAs, starting May 19. One OTA practice will be conducted on Ray Nitschke Field and be open to the public, weather permitting: Wednesday, May 21; Thursday, May 29; Wednesday, June 4; and Wednesday, June 11.

Training camp begins Monday, July 28, with players reporting the day before for physicals and testing.