Retired (for now, at least) quarterback Brett Favre is seriously considering a comeback, if you can even call it that. Favre, who retired in March, reportedly had the "itch" to play football again recently. Now, it appears as though Favre's itch has grown considerably as he had a conference call with Packers general manager Ted Thompson and head coach Mike McCarthy earlier this week to discuss a possible return.
The conference call resulted in an interesting twist in this whole story as Brett Favre is now asking for the Packers to release him. At this point, it sounds like Favre is set on coming back despite not even being retired for a full offseason, and it also sounds like he doesn't want to play for the Packers.
Favre's agent Bus Cook wrote a letter that the Packers received this morning expressing his client's interest in having a mutual breakup. Since Thompson and McCarthy weren't all that enthused about the possibility of Favre returning during the conference call, the one-time Packers QB wants to play for a new team.
As of right now, Favre is on the Packers' reserve-retirement list. Should Favre actually come back, he would have to write a letter requesting Green Bay reinstate him on the active roster, or the Packers would have to release him. Since it appears that Favre does want to return to the NFL already, it appears that Green Bay will have a very tough decision to make.
One might argue that the decision should be a no-brainer, but the Packers have to think about their future. How long are they going to let Brett Favre keep them waiting around for a decision on whether or not he will play? How long are they going to continue to keep Aaron Rodgers' starting dreams on the back-burner? And finally, how long are they going to wait before finally moving on?
Back in March, the Packers were set to move on, but in the last few weeks Favre has given them a reason to re-think that mindset as he obviously hasn't moved on. I can't wait to see how this whole saga plays out because it will be entertaining for sure. I imagine most Packers fans would love to see #4 back on the field this fall, but do the coaches and management feel the same way? It certainly doesn't seem like it because they have a team to worry about and can't be toyed with year after year.
If it does somehow get to the point where Favre comes back for another team, I just hope it's someone not on the Lions schedule. Although it would be hilarious if Favre decided to play for a team in the NFC North just to see the reaction of Packers fans, I don't want the Lions to play a team quarterbacked by #4 twice a year.
Although I highly doubt it would come to this, but if Favre miraculously had some interest in playing for the Lions, what would you want Detroit to do? Bring him in for possibly only a year or so to replace Kitna in the short-term, or let him go somewhere else? Like I said, I doubt this would ever happen, but it definitely is interesting to think about.
UPDATE: According to Jay Glazer, the Packers have no interest in releasing Favre and would "welcome Favre back as a backup to Aaron Rodgers." Now that would be downright hilarious.