Johnathan Franklin

The Green Bay Packers ' fears that the neck injury running back Johnathan Franklin sustained last season as a rookie would be career-ending have come to fruition.

Coach Mike McCarthy said at the close of minicamp on Thursday that Franklin's tenure with the Packers is over. The official transaction is expected to come Friday but Franklin's agent, Kenny Zuckerman, told ESPN.com the Packers will release Franklin with the waived/injured designation.

Franklin, a fourth-round pick from UCLA last year, sustained both a neck injury and a concussion while returning the opening kickoff against the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 24. He was placed on injured reserve three days later. Although Franklin did not undergo neck surgery, that was the injury that ended his Packers' career. It likely will end his NFL career as well, but Zuckerman said they were still waiting to hear back from another specialists.

Update: Franklin announced that he's retiring on Twitter.

Franklin was likely going to be the RB4 behind James Starks and DuJuan Harris, the primary backups to Eddie Lacy.