I figured Brett Favre would start to think about playing football again once training camp rolled around and he had nothing else to do, but it's barely July and already there are rumors regarding Favre wanting to return. ESPN's Chris Mortenson reported this yesterday:
With his family "tugging" on him to play, Brett Favre has an "itch" to come out of retirement and report to training camp with the Green Bay Packers later this month, according to sources close to the team and player.
Favre has communicated his potential desire to coach Mike McCarthy but talks have not advanced to a substantive stage, a Packers source said.
On ESPN's NFL Live, Packers defensive back Al Harris said on Wednesday: "I've talked to Brett and I know he has the itch to come back and play. If he will or not, I don't know. But I know he's feeling he wants to play."
When asked how Favre expressed his desire to return, Harris said the quarterback said, "I got the itch."
Before the news got too out of hand, Favre told a Mississippi paper that it was just a rumor and nothing more.
Retired quarterback Brett Favre responded quickly to an ESPN report about a possible return to play for the Green Bay Packers by saying, "It's all rumor."
When queried about a possible media firestorm, Favre text messaged, "No reason for it."
Translation: That "itch" of mine wasn't supposed to become public knowledge.
I have no doubt that Favre will be thinking long and hard about his decision to retire once training camp arrives and the preseason kicks off. That doesn't necessarily mean he will come back, but I definitely think he will consider that as an option.
Should Favre come back after being retired for less than one full offseason, it would an interesting move. If he returns to the Packers, both the team and QB Aaron Rodgers would not be affected in a positive way. Although Green Bay would be getting their star QB back, Favre's retirement caused them to draft 2 QBs and left them unsure of what the future holds. At the same time, Aaron Rodgers would just have to feel sick to his stomach as his chance to prove himself finally came but never happened.
I'm thinking that this story is only beginning and I'm sure it will be discussed again sometime this month. Training camp gets underway later this month and you can bet when the Packers take the field, the only question will be about where Brett Favre is.