ESPN: Favre conflicted about whether or not to play this season
Here’s a shocker: Brett Favre is unsure about something.
According to a report by ESPN.com’s Ed Werder, Favre is conflicted about whether or not to play this season.
With Minnesota Vikings players scheduled to report to training camp in less than a week, Brett Favre remains anguished about whether he should come out of retirement and join the team. That decision, according to sources, has become more difficult in recent days because of the efforts of Vikings players including Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen and Steve Hutchinson, all of whom have now begun calling and texting Favre in an attempt to convince him to become Minnesota’s starting quarterback.
“If it weren’t for the involvement of the Vikings players directly telling Brett they want him on their team, I think he might have already decided against playing again,” a source said.
A source said that Favre is beginning to feel a sense of obligation, not only to Vikings players but to a coaching staff that has been recruiting him since the moment the New York Jets released him in April. According to sources, Favre has been communicating regularly with Vikings head coach Brad Childress and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, who was Favre’s offensive coordinator in Green Bay for three seasons.
Money is not an issue, as a source says that Favre and the Vikings have negotiated a one-year contract worth approximately $10 million. But the quarterback has not decided whether to sign it.
What seems unresolved in Favre’s mind is whether, at age 39, he can reasonably expect to be healthy enough to play 16-plus games for the Vikings while maintaining the standard of performance he expects of himself.
Hey Brett, do you want to play or not? You’re 39 years old – of course there’s a chance you might not be able to make it through an entire season. You didn’t technically make it through last season as you essentially had your biceps duct taped to your arm for the final couple weeks of the year. But again, do you want to play or not?
Favre shouldn’t feel like he has an obligation to the Vikings to play this season because ultimately, it’s his decision. But he does have an obligation to the Vikings to make a damn decision one way or another, especially considering we’re in late July now and not April. Minnesota has been patient this entire time with Brett, so he needs to make a decision so the Vikes can move on either with or without him.
He said he was going to make a decision by July 30. Then he said he should know by this Friday. All indications were that he was going to tell the Vikings yes, now he’s conflicted. It never ceases to amaze me how this guy can draw every last bit of drama out of a situation both for the good and the bad.
You could replace the word Minnesota with “Green Bay” and this post would be about 95% accurate had it been posted two summers ago.
Hey Brett..enough already. You can’t pull a Roger Clemens with a football team. It just doesn’t work because there’s too much preparation involved. I’m surprised the Vikings have allowed him to manipulate them this way. And I’m surprised the media continues to make this a huge story because it really isn’t one.
Don’t count me amongst those who believe that this is not a big story. It is. The Vikings have a great rushing attack and a pretty good defense, but they have no quarterback. If Favre joins Minnesota and can stay healthy the entire season, they have a great shot at making a deep playoff run. So whether or not Favre plays this year is important to the landscape of the NFL.
Just because we’re sick of the story (or him) doesn’t make it unimportant.
I agree. It is an important story for this year and for legacy reasons. I’m sick of it in one sense, but it’s also like a slow-motion train wreck – you have to watch!
We went through this saga for three years in Green Bay. I think I was one of the first to retire my #4 for a brand new #12 jersey.
I hope he does go to the Queens so Ragi and the rest of the Pack D can show off Favre’s immobility.
GO PACK!!!
Ellsworth WI
I met Brett one snowy night at a movie theater in Green Bay in 1995. Huge blizzard, only four people in the place. Thought I’d leave the guy in peace, but HE came up to ME to shoot the breeze. I just said ” Thank-you for all you’ve done for the Packers and us Packer fans.”, and shook his hand. Amazing athlete, class guy, ultimate competitor. I’m a huge life long Packer fan, but when are we all going to realize Brett did a million times more for the GBP than the GBP ever did for him. When are the GBP and all GBP fans going to realize how much of a privilege and blessing it was that Brett did what he did in Green Bay. He could just as well have done it elsewhere. I’ve spoken with guys who played for Lombardi and they all had the same self-assessment….average guys who were inspired to become extraordinary players and men. Brett, those of us who have really followed your career know that you became an extraordinary player and man mostly because of you, your Dad, and your family. Brett, put on the purple and gold and go GIT “R DONE!