GREEN BAY -- The Green Bay Packers released wide receiver Koren Robinson Friday, but both general manager Ted Thompson and Robinson's agent said the move was made solely for football reasons, not because Robinson had encountered any off-the-field problems in his continuing recovery from alcoholism.

Instead, after the Packers drafted Kansas State wide receiver Jordy Nelson with the first of their three second-round picks during the April 26 NFL draft, then added San Diego State wide receiver Brett Swain in the seventh round, it was clear the team had decided to go in a different direction.

"When the Packers took (Nelson) in the second round, they told us then that they were looking to go young at the position," Robinson 's agent, Alvin Keels, said. "The decision was, they're looking to build a receiving corps that's going to be strong for the future.

"They're looking for their No. 3 and No. 4 guy this year to be someone that can develop into a primary target for the team in a couple of years, and that put Koren between a rock and a hard place. They had to cut somebody."

Robinson did not return voicemail or text messages Friday. Thompson, reached Friday evening, also said it was a football-only decision.

Although Robinson, a 2001 first-round draft pick, is only 27, he has a chronic knee injury that required constant maintenance and forced him to be limited in practice throughout last season. It also affected his speed significantly.

"We looked at this pretty hard, and just with the general makeup of our roster at that position, we felt like it would be better for the Packers -- and probably better for Koren, quite frankly -- to let him go," said Thompson, who drafted Robinson while with the Seattle Seahawks. "Obviously I think the world of him, as you know."

Robinson joined the Packers in September 2006, following his release from the Minnesota Vikings, and played in four games (catching seven passes for 89 yards) before NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suspended him one year for violating the league's substance-abuse policy for the third time. The suspension was brought by Robinson 's drunk-driving arrest following a high-speed chase during the Vikings' training camp that year.

Goodell reinstated Robinson on Oct. 17, 2007, and Robinson went on to play in nine games for the Packers, catching 21 passes for 241 yards and one touchdown. He also finished second on the team with 25 kickoff returns for 23.8-yard average.

Upon his reinstatement, Robinson said he was attending Alcoholic Anonymous meetings and also taking antabuse, a drug that causes violent illness when mixed with alcohol.

The Packers had heard rumblings that Robinson recently had been seen at a Green Bay-area bar, and Keels acknowledged that Robinson had been out in Green Bay. However, he said Robinson was drinking a non-alcoholic beverage and remains committed to his recovery.

"He's not drinking. He's doing just fine," Keels said. "When you're in the position Koren's in, the whole drinking thing is going to follow him the rest of his football carer -- and the rest of his life.

"I've been out at a bar with Koren, in a setting where alcohol is served, and he typically orders fruit juice -- cranberry juice mixed with pineapple juice. That's his drink of choice. He went out to a teammate's party and was out-and-about afterward and he got what he normally gets. But whenever you have the reputation Koren has, the first thing people are going to say is that he's drinking.

"I told him, 'When you're in Green Bay or wherever you land next, you can't be in those positions, period.' He has to drink bottled water. People aren't going to assume the best. They're going to assume he's drinking cranberry mixed with something else."

Thompson also said he did not believe that Robinson was drinking again, and the two men spoke at length Friday about Robinson's recovery.

"I had heard that people suspected it because they saw him in a bar, and we looked into it. Just because a guy's in a bar doesn't make him a bad guy," Thompson said. "We don't think there's anything to that.

"I had a long talk with Koren today, and he seemed to be resolute in trying to continue on. We think he's done a marvelous job of getting his life back under control and being the good person we knew he was."

Robinson might have helped his cause by participating in the offseason program in Green Bay rather than working out back home in Raleigh, N.C. Keels said Robinson was planning to return to Green Bay after the draft to begin participating in the program.

After the draft, the Packers gave Keels permission to seek a trade, and while no teams were interested enough in his client to give up a future draft pick to acquire him, Keels said several teams have an interest now that Robinson is a free agent.

"We spoke the Monday after the draft and after their post-draft meetings, they decided," Keels said. "I talked to a few teams. There's some mild interest out there -- nothing concrete, but we'll see. I definitely think there 'll be interest in Koren. We'll see how much in the next few days."