At least until the telephone rings with a job offer, wayward running back Jason Brookins can stop wandering the interstate highway system, and quit wondering about his career with the Green Bay Packers.

The Packers on Thursday cut Brookins, two days after a misunderstanding caused him to leave training camp unexcused, and just a few minutes before he was to begin the 10-hour drive from Missouri back to Green Bay.

"It's over with Green Bay," said agent Stephen Weinberger, who conferred with NFL Players Association officials on Thursday morning. "The team just called to say they had released him. And I had to hurry to get Jason on the phone, because I was afraid he was on his way back (to Green Bay)."

Based on his conversation with NFLPA officials, Weinberger had ordered Brookins back to Green Bay.

The bizarre odyssey began on Tuesday, the first wholesale roster cutdown day for all teams, when a Packers functionary asked for Brookins' playbook. Brookins interpreted the request to mean that he was among the players who were being released. Instead, the Packers simply wanted to insert some new plays into the binder.

Of course, Brookins didn't know that, because he had already packed his bags and was on the road. When the team contacted Weinberger to query him about his client's whereabouts, the agent was unable to reach Brookins, who was using his grandmother's cell phone.

Two days of conversations between Weinberger and Green Bay officials only muddied the waters. Said Weinberger: "One (official) would tell me they wanted him back and another would say to wait until (coach) Mike Sherman decided what he wanted to do. It just made things even crazier."

Brookins, who played last season for the Baltimore Ravens, signed with the Packers as a free agent earlier this spring. He rushed for 551 yards and five touchdowns for the Ravens in 2001.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.