GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers and Brett Favre have reached the end of the road together, and there isn't much else to say except goodbye.

The way Packers coach Mike McCarthy characterized it in a long-awaited news conference late Tuesday afternoon, Favre's differences with management and the hurt he felt from it weighed too much on his mind for him to become a Packer again.

As a result, the Packers picked up trade talks with the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and were nearing a final resolution with Favre. Discussions have been the strongest with the Buccaneers, but there is no agreement between the two teams, and talks are expected to continue Wednesday. Until the two sides can agree on trade terms, Favre's destination is up in the air.

However, working in the Packers' favor is the fact that Favre has spoken to Buccaneers representatives and is open to the idea of playing for them, according to a source close to the quarterback. Favre is also thought to have spoken to the Jets, but it's unclear whether he is open to playing in New York.

For quite some time, the Packers have been persuading Favre to consider a trade to a team not inside their own NFC North Division, but Favre has resisted, hoping to be released so he could pick his future team.

After a meeting between Favre and McCarthy, four Packers executives — general manager Ted Thompson, President Mark Murphy, negotiator Russ Ball and legal counsel Jason Weid — went to Favre's west side house hoping to convince Favre and his wife, Deanna, to consider a trade to a team outside the NFC North.

It's well known that many in the Favre camp, including family members, would prefer that he play in the NFC North so he could play against the Packers twice a season. There is a contingent of Favre family members and friends who think that Thompson wants his hand-picked quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, to take over the team and has done nothing to encourage Favre to play another season.

A deal with the Buccaneers would at least allow Favre to play one game against the Packers. Green Bay plays at Tampa Bay on Sept. 28.

"I just want to see how it all plays out," cornerback Al Harris said. "I know he wants to play somewhere."

The Packers and Favre got to this point after Favre and McCarthy were unable to reach a meeting of the minds.

Over and over during the 25-minute question-and-answer session with reporters inside the team's media auditorium, McCarthy said his perception was that Favre was not in the proper mind-set to rejoin the team. In nearly six hours of meetings between him and Favre, McCarthy said the two never got past discussing the events of the past couple months.

"That was not my intent when I started the meeting," McCarthy said. "My whole intent was, 'Was he coming into the locker room to play for the Green Bay Packers, and where is your mind at?' That was the first question I asked him, and we could never get back to that point where he was comfortable."

It was five months ago to the day that a tearful Favre announced at a news conference inside Lambeau Field that he was retiring after 16 years with the Packers. But before the retirement was a month old, Favre began reconsidering his decision, setting off a series of events that turned a cozy relationship into a broken marriage.

All along, McCarthy doubted Favre's commitment to coming back, and that's why he wanted to meet with him before allowing him back with the Packers. He said he was never convinced that Favre had his heart set on playing another season.

"I thought his decision to play was emotional," McCarthy said. "He told me that was not the case, and I respect that. I told him over and over again, I would like to be wrong, but I never thought through this whole process that he was going to play this year.

"If I'm wrong, I'm wrong."

Favre applied to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for reinstatement July 29, and after a failed attempt by Murphy to sign him to a 10-year marketing and promotions agreement, Favre was reinstated Monday. Before McCarthy would let Favre on the field to practice, he wanted to speak to him face-to-face to see how committed he was to playing again.

The two met for four hours Monday evening and for another two hours Tuesday morning before concluding they were at a stalemate and that the best thing for both parties was to separate. Favre was put on the reserve/non-football injury list because of an abdominal strain he suffered working out and did not take part in the team's 2 p.m. CDT practice.

McCarthy gave every indication that he was willing to open up the competition for starting quarterback so that Favre had a chance to be the starter, but he said they never even got into a discussion about that because they couldn't get past Favre's hurt feelings.

Asked whether Favre felt animosity toward Packers management, McCarthy said, "Those are the words that were used when we concluded."

Hearing that, McCarthy didn't think he could expose Favre to the rest of the team because he didn't want "a negative mind-set" in the locker room.

Ultimately, he was looking to see whether Favre could get over the past and just focus on competing with Rodgers for the starting job.

"I didn't get the answers to the questions that I was looking for to open that competition up, so why would I do that to my football team?" McCarthy said. "That would be poor leadership. It's not a popularity contest. I wasn't going to go there."

Earlier Tuesday, Favre spoke with ESPN, his preferred medium for getting out his message, and told reporter Chris Mortensen that he couldn't get over some of the things the Packers had done during their dispute with him. He said he was willing to compete for a position on the team but agreed it was better that he move on.

"They want to know if I'm committed, but I want to know if they're 100 percent committed," Favre said. "The problem is that there's been a lot of damage done and I can't forget it. Stuff has been said, stories planted, that just aren't true. Can I get over all that? I doubt it."

The final straw, he said, came when the team "tried to buy me off to stay retired," a reference to the $20 million marketing deal Murphy offered.

At the practice field Tuesday, a large contingent of fans who showed up on a sweltering day to see Favre practice was disappointed to find out he wasn't there. The crowd thinned out quickly, but some of those who remained chanted things like "Bring Brett back" and "We want Favre."

One group chanted, "Bring back Brett, fire Ted Thompson."

It made for a somewhat uncomfortable day for Rodgers, who struggled on the field, throwing three interceptions during an afternoon devoted mostly to practicing plays near the end zone. After the workout was over, Rodgers faced a cluster of 50 or so reporters near his locker.

"We have great fans," said Rodgers, who did not see Favre during his visit to the facility. "I hope I can win them over. What would it take? Win games."

As for the future, it's clear Favre isn't part of it for the Packers. Whether they are pro-Favre or anti-Favre, the players are just hoping the saga is over.

"The thing that is tiring is all the questions," nose tackle Ryan Pickett told reporters. "We're just tired of being asked about it."