UPDATE: Some of the pay-wall quotes after the jump.

In what appears to be a brainlock of epic proportions, Brett Favre was using his team-issued cell phone to chat with Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and coach Brad Childress, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. There’s no link because it’s tucked behind a pay wall. Worth noting: Pro Football Talk had this last week.

Was Favre deliberately trying to get caught to send a message, or did he just make a staggeringly foolish mistake? The Vikings, it appears, are screwed – not only have their certainly lost Favre, but there’s no telling of Goodell will yank a draft pick and/or fine them. And you’ve got to wonder if anyone in the NFL feels shittier this morning than Minny’s QB, Tarvaris Jackson. Poor guy.

From the aforementioned Journal-Sentinel:

The Packers think less now of Favre as a person but also think he has been advised poorly by James “Bus” Cook, the lawyer from Hattiesburg, Miss., who has been his agent from the beginning.

For the time being, they’re just going to sit on Favre until he seeks reinstatement from Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Complicating the matter is the Packers’ tampering charge against the Minnesota Vikings for what appears to be an amateurish mistake by Team Favre-Cook. One source said Favre had continued to use his Packers-issued cell phone. When the Packers checked his phone log, there were repeated calls to coach Brad Childress and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell.

Then Favre had the gall to complain on national television last week that the more time passes the harder it will be for him to get situated with another team. Hey, Brett, if you would have had your house in order before the 8th of July, the Packers could have been working on a deal for months.

As long as Cook is calling the shots, the Packers aren’t going to give him permission to seek a trade. For Favre, they want a third-round draft choice and something else, preferably a player, and a source said one proposed deal with Baltimore already has been rejected by the Ravens.

Besides the Ravens, the list of teams with possible interest in Favre includes the Chiefs, Bills, Dolphins and Jets from the AFC and the Panthers, Buccaneers, Falcons, Redskins, Vikings, Bears and Lions from the NFC.

Unless several teams enter the bidding, the Packers probably won’t get what they’re seeking because clubs will expect Favre to be released.

If Favre shows up, the Packers must give him a uniform. Rodgers, however, will be No. 1.