So much for the concern the Packers had too many wide receivers.
General manager Ted Thompson announced Friday afternoon that Green Bay had released receiver Koren Robinson. The move comes two weeks after the team drafted Kansas State receiver Jordy Nelson with their first draft choice.
Robinson was under contract through the upcoming season, and was set to be paid $730,000. Because he wasn’t given a signing bonus, Robinson’s release carries no salary-cap ramifications.
Thompson gave Robinson a second chance when he signed the 6-foot-2 receiver and former Pro Bowl kick returner in 2006. Not long after the signing, the NFL suspended Robinson for a year for alcohol-related problems that occurred during his tenure with the Minnesota Vikings.
After catching four passes for 42 yards before his suspension in 2006, Robinson caught 21 passes for 241 yards and a Week 17 touchdown and averaged 23.8 yards on 25 kickoff returns in eight games last season.
He was a favorite of quarterback Brett Favre, in large part because both had battled alcohol problems.
“I don’t like the way the league has, in my mind, turned their back on him," Favre said when the NFL suspended Robinson. “I’m not against banning him for the year. I'd love for him to play, but to boot him out, clean his locker out and say you can't have no contact with this team?
“I’m no expert, but I would think you would want for people to reach out to him and be within an organization that can help him as opposed to saying, ‘You’re banned from the building. To make matters worse, we don't even want you over here, so go think about it and deal with it on your own.’”
The 2006 suspension was the latest trouble for the player drafted in the first round by Thompson and the Seattle Seahawks in 2001. He was suspended for four games in 2004 and pleaded guilty to driving under the influence in 2005. The 2006 suspension stemmed from a high-speed chase in Mankato during training camp. He was clocked at speeds up to 120 mph as he tried to race back to camp to make curfew. His blood-alcohol content was .11, above the limit of .08.
By all accounts, though, Robinson was a model teammate in Green Bay and had his life turned around. Chronic knee problems, however, kept Robinson at less than full health for much of last season.