Does Brett Favre Want to Play Again?

Blogcasting the National Football League, Blogcasting the NFL

Apparently, Brett Favre is considering coming out of retirement to play another season in the National Football League. A number of sources have reported that Brett wants to play again (and his family wants him to play again), but the word from Brett is “it’s all rumor.” Looks like we have conflicting stories here. Neither Brett’s agent nor the Green Bay Packers have weighed-in on the matter. Brett has had contact with Packers head coach Mike McCarthy, but talks have not advanced beyond a mention of interest and the Packers have no comment right now.

This is a huge story, but it should not come as a surprise to anyone. Since Brett announced his retirement back in early March, there have been a couple of indicators that he might return. He hasn’t filed the necessary paperwork that would put an official stamp on his retirement. And his locker is still intact. These are obvious red flags that there was uncertainty from both sides in his retirement announcement.

So, here’s where things get interesting. When Brett “retired,” the Packers began preparing quarterback Aaron Rodgers for the starting spot. Big deal, I say. I don’t believe that has a lot to do with anything at this point. As a team, I think you field the best players you can when the time comes to do so. Even though Brett is a living legend on the football field and a certain first-ballot Hall of Famer, the fact of the matter is the Packers will get their team together during training camp (not OTAs and minicamps) and put their best people in starting spots. If Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers are on the Packers roster, Brett wins that starting spot. If Brett is not there, Aaron wins the spot. It’s really as simple as that.

There has been some speculation that Green Bay doesn’t want Brett back and would consider trading him if he “unretired.” I disagree. I think the Packers know who gives them the best chance to win. And that someone is Brett Favre. You only need to look at what he did last season and the returning talent that surrounds him to figure that out. Coach McCarthy tried to talk Brett out of retirement. So, it’s not that the team didn’t want him back. Those reports are inaccurate. If Brett returns to the NFL in 2008, it will be with the Green Bay Packers, not another team. He knows his best chance of winning a Super Bowl is with the Packers. And the Packers know their best chance of winning a Super Bowl is with Brett Favre. The question is this: Is this just Brett getting an expected itch to play or is he really serious about returning to the NFL? Brett says there’s nothing to it, but from what I’m hearing of his interest to return to the game — if that is a sincere interest — I think the two sides will find a way to make it happen.

Sources: ESPN.com, SunHerald.com, Photo: Newscom