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MILWAUKEE - During the past two seasons, the Green Bay Packers invested a considerable amount of time, energy and patience in wide receiver Koren Robinson.
Their payback was a couple of dozen catches, some kickoff returns and one touchdown.
So, was it worth the risk of signing an admitted alcoholic whose brushes with the law left him practically unwanted in the National Football League and on the verge of a one-year suspension? On the same day the Packers released him because his chances of making the roster in 2008 weren't very good, general manager Ted Thompson said yes.
"I do," Thompson said. "I think a lot of Koren. I'm very proud to be able to see him turn things around. He's a true professional. He helped us in the locker room. He helped the young guys learn to be pros."
On the field, Robinson was never able to be the player he was with the Minnesota Vikings before his release in August 2006. The Vikings cut him after he was involved in a high-speed chase with police and violated his parole from a separate incident.
Thompson knew Robinson from his days in Seattle and thought the receiver could overcome his alcoholism with the right treatment and a stable environment. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Robinson for a year shortly after the Packers picked him up, and during that year he spent his time working on his personal life.
"Green Bay saved his career," said Robinson's agent, Alvin Keels. "They took a chance when nobody else would have allowed him to get back on the football field. He's gone two years without any incidents. That goes a long way in how other teams view you."
Keels said Robinson remained sober and alcohol was not a factor in his release.
After the Packers selected Kansas State wide receiver Jordy Nelson with their first pick in the draft and then selected San Diego State receiver Brett Swain in the seventh round, the writing was on the wall for the 28-year-old Robinson.
Thompson said the way the draft fell was the main reason the Packers wound up with two receivers, but they clearly had their eye on going in another direction because they signed three rookie free-agent receivers shortly after the draft.
On the Monday after the draft, Keels said the Packers told him Robinson would be on the bubble if he came to training camp and they asked him if he would like them to release his client. Keels asked them for permission to shop him around the league for a trade, which he did, but ultimately a deal couldn't be reached.
"There are a couple of teams who are interested," Keels said. "They just weren't interested in trading for Koren, at least at the terms the Packers were seeking. The Packers wanted a draft pick and a couple teams were offering a player that the Packers didn't feel fit what they wanted."
Thompson said he thought Robinson could definitely be an asset with another team and he was fairly sure he would get a chance. He said part of the reason to make the move now was so Robinson could be situated with a new team quickly.
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