Brett Favre continued to wear a sleeve on his throwing elbow during practice Saturday and coach Brad Childress said an MRI done this week showed "a little inflammation" in quarterback's elbow. Favre is dealing with tendinitis for at least the second time in his career. He was limited in practice for a second consecutive day on Saturday but is listed as probable for Monday night's game against the Jets.
"It was not an issue before we went on the bye and we worked pretty good on Monday and Tuesday out here," Childress said. "It flares up every now and then. [The] MRI just says he has a little inflammation. You manage it and you kind of let his body talk to him and he takes turns that he needs take on specific plays that he needs to take them on. It's not a lot different than last year. Tarvaris [Jackson] probably had more practice time last year than most No. 2 quarterbacks."
Childress said it has not been determined if Favre will wear a sleeve on the arm Monday. Favre also is listed on the Vikings injury report because of soreness in his left ankle, which he had repaired surgically during the offseason.
Childress also was asked if the reports circulating about Favre have proven to be a distraction. The NFL is reviewing allegations by the website Deadspin.com that Favre sent inappropriate messages and photos via cell phone to former Jets sideline reporter Jenn Sterger when he played for that team in 2008.
The website reported Friday that a woman who worked for the Jets as a massage therapist is alleging she and another therpapist got suggestive text messages from Favre.
"It's not a distraction to us at all," Childress said, pointing out the team talks about everything. "We just don't let it be. We address it, we talk about it and we're done with it. I haven't heard anything. I don't know anything about [the NFL investigation]."
Asked about how he deals with this type of situation, given that it's not exactly the norm, Childress responded: "I don't know how to categorize that. We just talk about what's out there and look it right in the eye. Deal with it to the extent we can. It doesn't affect anybody else in this locker room except Brett Favre."
Childress dismissed any concern about the fact the Vikings have dealt with plenty of distractions in recent seasons."I guess my experience is they are distractons if you allow them to be," he said. "So when you address it and talk about it all together then you go forward."
