No Favre? No problem, say Vikings

MANKATO, UNITED STATES // If Brett Favre returns to Minnesota for a 20th NFL season, it almost certainly will not be before the Vikings' 12-day stay in this college town comes to an end. That seems to be just fine with the rest of the team. The Vikings started reporting for training camp on Thursday evening to begin what is the scourge of life in the NFL: sweating through two-a-day practices in the stifling August heat.

Yet nearly every veteran who spoke with reporters said they had no problem with Favre skipping training camp, just as he did last season. While much of the rest of the country seems to have tired of Favre's annual waffling, the guys who matter most, his teammates, do not seem to mind. "There's been a lot of talk about players being treated differently," said John Sullivan, the centre. "Well, guys aren't the same. Brett's been playing for 20 years. He's earned some leeway. We know that if he comes back he'll be 100 percent committed to the team. We'd love to have him.

"I think I speak for most of the guys when I say nobody's upset Brett is in the situation that he's in." Favre is working out at his home in Mississippi, rehabilitating a surgically repaired ankle that was injured in Minnesota's overtime loss to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC title game. He has yet to inform the team if he will honour the second year of his contract. Meanwhile, the Washington Redskins have signed Trent Williams, the fourth overall pick from the April NFL Draft, to a long-term contract after a one-day holdout, the team said yesterday.

Terms of the deal for the left tackle were not disclosed but local media reported the six-year contract was worth US$60m illion (Dh220m) with $37.5m guaranteed. Williams is projected to be a starter at tackle, the Redskins said on their website. * AP