Packers hire Steve Smith to work with Favre upon arrival at camp

GREEN BAY, WI — Mere hours after publicly apologizing for beating the hell out of teammate Ken Lucas, Carolina Panthers star wideout Steve Smith has accepted an offer from the Green Bay Packers to spend some time “working with Brett Favre” during the veteran QB’s first day back in camp.

“At first we weren’t thrilled about letting Steve go to the Packers training camp,” Panthers’ head coach John Fox told SSNN. “But when Mike [Packers' head coach McCarthy] promised not to actually have him run any routes or catch any passes, we sort of saw it as a win-win situation. I mean, we really need to let D.J. Hackett get some time with the first team so he’s ready for those two games when Steve is suspended, and I sure as hell didn’t want to be the guy to tell him he’d be running with the second team this week.”

Neither McCarthy nor Packers GM Ted Thompson were willing to comment on precisely what they intend to do with Smith, beyond saying that the three-time Pro Bowler will be “exclusively paired with Favre during his time in Packers’ camp.” One Green Bay front office member, however, was more than willing to share the plan.

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“I’m not going to go into too much detail, but let’s just say that Mike and Ted are basically putting an open flame next to a leaky gas line, and hoping something blows up,” said SSNN’s source, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Brett doesn’t really know Steve’s history, so the plan is to play it like they’ve just brought in a good receiver to run some routes with him on the side while he gets up to speed physically.

“The thing is, we gave Brett some ‘tips‘ on how to get along with Steve – you know, just some things to say to break the ice, so to speak. Only if he actually says some of those things… well, let’s just say it makes Ken Lucas’ trash talk look like friendly ribbing.”

Smith’s altercation with Lucas – which left the cornerback with a broken nose that will require surgery – was his second fight with a teammate. The first incident came in 2002, when the volatile receiver was suspended one game for punching practice squad player Anthony Bright during a film session.

The stomping of Lucas will cause Smith to miss the first two games of the regular season, in a team-imposed suspension without pay. Fox sees Smith’s temporary work in Green Bay as a good way for the receiver to stay sharp and in shape while simultaneously getting some “much-needed distance from the more physically vulnerable members of our franchise.”

“I have no reason to believe that the Packers have any ulterior motives for bringing Steve in to work with Brett,” Fox told SSNN. “That said, speaking strictly in hypothetical terms, if Steve can get some of his extra aggression out by beating on people from other teams, that could save us a ton in medical bills.

“Do you guys have any idea how much it costs to surgically repair a broken nose? More than we wanted to spend on Ken Lucas, I can tell you that.”