GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Mike McCarthy was not happy that the Packers' front office gave away Jarrett Bush's jersey number.
As Green Bay's rookie orientation camp got underway Friday, second-round pick Quinten Rollins was wearing the No. 24 that Bush had donned since 2006. Though Bush is currently an unrestricted free agent, there had been no strong indications that that door was closed on bringing back the longtime special-teams ace.
Assigning Bush's number to a rookie, however, seemed like a fairly clear sign that the Packers were ready to move on after a nine-year relationship.
Well, not so fast, apparently.
"Jarrett Bush, he's obviously out there with his particular (free agent) situation," McCarthy said. "I don't think the '24' really signifies that. Jarrett is a nine-year player here.
"If he did come back to us and things worked out in the future, he'd be wearing 24. I think it's premature, frankly, that we did that (giving his number to Rollins). But Jarrett Bush is still a free agent."
While Green Bay didn't hold Bush's jersey number for him, his spot remains untouched in the team's locker room. The Packers' only other remaining unrestricted free agent, quarterback Matt Flynn, no longer has his locker available.
Keeping the 'Bush' nameplate intact, along with McCarthy's comments, keeps open the possibility that the soon-to-be 31-year-old will get to make it a full decade in Green Bay.
As one of the Packers' top-two draft picks waits to see whether he gets to keep No. 24, the other is beginning his NFL career with an injury. First-rounder Damarious Randall wasn't able to do much in Friday's practice, watching from the sideline while the rest of the defensive backs went through drills.
"Just kind of like a minor ankle injury," Randall said. "Just kind of the coaching staff and the training staff trying to be smart."
McCarthy believes that Randall will "probably" be ready to compete by next week.
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