Favre to sign with Vikings soon?
According to a report by WCCO-TV in Minneapolis, free agent quarterback Brett Favre will sign with the Vikings sometime today.
Favre is on currently on his way to Minneapolis and is expected to sign with the team this afternoon, the source said.
WCCO-TV spoke with an official at the Hattiesburg, Miss., airport, who saw an airplane with the Vikings logo leave the airport Tuesday morning. The flight number for that plane has been blocked from tracking systems.
This is ridiculous. What has changed since July 28, when Favre told the Vikings that he would stay retired and not play football in 2009? What, does his arm feel significantly better today than it did at the end of July? Or did Favre just want to skip training camp and now that the Vikings have begun preseason play, he’s ready to join them?
If the Vikings sign Favre, it would be a massive slap in the face of Sage Rosenfels, who was brought to Minnesota this offseason in order to compete for a starting gig. Minnesota dragged Rosenfels through the ringer while flirting with Favre all summer, only to tell him that he was once again in line to be the starting quarterback after Brett said he would stay retired. Then, Rosenfels goes out and completes 10-of-13 passes for 91 yards in the Vikings’ preseason opener last week and now will once again take a back seat to Favre when/if the former Packer is signed.
I get that a legend like Favre would pull rank over a 31-year-old journeyman like Rosenfels, but it’s the principle of the matter. When Favre told Brad Childress that he was going to stay retired, that should have been the end it. But instead, Childress is so far down Brett’s pants that he’ll do anything in order to have Favre in purple and yellow this season.
Or maybe Childress knew all along that Favre was going to sign as soon as training camp was over. If that’s the case, then I still stand by the notion that Childress is sackless, because he should have told Favre to get his ass into training camp if he wanted to play this season.
What a load of crap.
I love you, Brett. Thanks for joining my favorite team’s arch-rival out of spite. You are a beautiful person.
That’s exactly what it is, John, pure spite. Apologists will say he just wants to play but there is no denying what this is all about. I’m amused and yes, Childress is signing his own death warrant as soon as Favre re-visits his annual November December collapse. Cut and past Mangini, McCarthy or Sherman’s face on Childress’s body with the, ‘oh my god, did you really just throw that pass’ look, priceless….
This is a Lions fan dream come true! I personally think he will destroy the Vikings (who are the best team in the North) but will have just enough in the tank to beat the Packers twice this year! I would give my left nut to be in Lambeau and watch that purple #4 run thru the visiting tunnel! Roger “ratings” Goodell must love this move!
What’s the big deal about him skipping TC?
I mean, I think Favre is a joke altogether no matter what, but if he attended TC, he wouldn’t have been on the field too much anyway. He doesn’t need the reps.
Wrong, kinggs. It’s one thing to miss the reps when you already know your receivers, how they break, where they like the ball and their overall tendancies. He could get away with missing camp with the Packers. He has no rapport, timing or chemistry with the Vikings receivers. And no, it doesn’t just happen. Training camp and OTA’s are critical when you start from the beginning.
You can make a case for that I suppose, but I don’t think he will be noticeably out of sync with the receivers, especially considering that he could operate the vikings playbook in his sleep.
For me Kinggs, it’s more a matter of Favre showing up to camp and going to work with his future teammates. I get that he’s a legend and probably doesn’t need the extra reps, but he’s about to go to battle with 52 other guys and I would think he would want to show his face and be there with them.
I can definitely understand that stance. He’s distancing himself from the team just like he did last year. We all know how that went.
There’s only 1 guy that can come and go when he wants, and thats Brett Farve!
So when does John Madden announce he’s coming back?
Get the Cruiser fired up, and some big ‘ol turkey legs!
Well, what a surprise !!!!! As a Bears’ fan, I am delighted that we have someone in the North who will be helping our questionable secondary to improve their stats. Keep chuckin it up there, old timer…….Glad I’ll have the NFL package again to root against him every Sunday……
Do you think that Madden had an inside scoop that Favre would come back for one more year? I’m thinking that’s why he retired, so he can follow Lord Favre around in the cruiser for his farewell tour!
Anthony, I have a question about Mr. Favre. Back when he was “leaving” the Packers, his first choice was the Vikings. As part of the deal with the Jets, the Packers included the fact that if the Jets sent Favre to the Vikings, the Packers would get 3 #1’s from the Jets.
My question is how long a contract did Favre sign with the Jets? Wasn’t it for 2 years? If so, can a guy under contract just “retire” and then become a free agent to go where he wants? In that case more players could “retire” and come back…….of course all this depends on that contract he signed with the Jets. Would appreciate your thoughts.
Da Bear,
Good question.
Favre still had another year to go on his contract, but the Jets waived him off their reserve/retired list, making him an unrestricted free agent. Therefore, the contract comes off the Jets’ books and makes Favre an unrestricted free agent, allowing him to sign with whomever he wants.
So to answer one of your questions, players can’t just retire and sign with anyone because that team would still have to waive that player either off the active roster or the reserve/retired list.
DaBear,
He was released from his conract (per Favre’s request) from the Jets in the offseason, allowing for this opportunity without having to give any compensation to the Packers.
Anthony and Jon, thanks for the responses. So, I don’t know who got screwed worse, the Jets or the Packers?? I guess I don’t understand why the Jets released him if he “retired”.
If they still had rights to him they (Jets) could have gotten something from the Vikings. And the Packers, on the other hand, have happen to them the one thing they stipulated in the contract, that he not go to the Vikings. Just a couple of thoughts.
I think there will be a lot of interesting games in the North this season, should be interesting.
Da Bear,
Good points, although the Jets would still be on the hook for $13 million if they didn’t waive him. No sense in killing $13 million in cap space for a retired player who, even if he did come back, would have cost them draft picks if they traded him to Minnesota (the only team he wanted to play for).
The Jets’ hands were tied thanks to Favre.
Basically Favre faked three retirements in order to ’stick it’ to Ted Thompson (Packers GM that didn’t play by Favres rules).