Childress says release had nothing to do with Robinson's remarks

At the beginning of the season, Childress organized a leadership committee of veteran players to serve as a bridge between coaches and players. He meets with them each week -- and said Wednesday he didn't hear "one word" about any frustration with him or his staff.

Childress stressed that he wanted to use Sunday's game against postseason-hopeful St. Louis as a tryout for several young players. That made receivers Jason Carter and Martin Nance more attractive to use in a meaningless game -- for Minnesota at least -- than Robinson, a 10-year veteran.

"I wish him the best as he goes on, and it's just a matter of getting somebody that I feel like has a chance to possibly impact this thing in the future," Childress said.

The timing of the move certainly shocked the players, but they were shy about expressing skepticism.

"I thought he was doing a great job when he had the opportunity," running back Chester Taylor said. "But I don't know the whole situation about that."

In November, cornerback Antoine Winfield met with Childress after criticizing the offense for a lack of creativity and production following a 9-3 loss to San Francisco, and the eight-year veteran was also prompted to address the team about those comments.

On Wednesday, Winfield was asked if he thought the team's communication lines were open.

"Somewhat. We all know coach Childress is the leader. It's his first year, and everyone's still trying to get to know him," Winfield said. "Sometimes he has that look on his face where you don't know if he's serious, if he's joking, because you rarely see him smile. But we'll all grow on each other, the more time we spend with each other."