GREEN BAY, Wis. -- When the Green Bay Packers on Thursday assigned jersey number 24 to rookie cornerback Quinten Rollins, that seemed to close the door on a return by veteran Jarrett Bush.
Perhaps not.
"I don't think [giving out No.] 24 really signifies that," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Friday. "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. But Jarrett Bush is still a free agent."
General manager Ted Thompson typically assigns uniform numbers.
Bush's locker, with the No. 24 on his nameplate, remained intact at Lambeau Field on Friday during rookie orientation camp.
Bush, who has been with the Packers since 2006, will turn 31 later this month and is without a contract. This offseason, Bush was charged with public intoxication in California but was later released without charges filed against him.
The only other unsigned free agent, quarterback Matt Flynn, no longer has a locker at Lambeau Field.
