It seems that there has been one burning question that has haunted me ever since this whole Brett Favre business started…
Why are the Packers so against the idea of Favre coming back?
Mentally, it’s clear that they want to move on with Aaron Rodgers, but they have a Hall of Fame quarterback who wants to come back and play. Why the resistance?
Well, it might have something to do with a late-March meeting between Favre, head coach Mike McCarthy and general manager Ted Thompson. In that meeting, Favre wanted to talk about coming back to the team and McCarthy and Thompson were both open to the idea.
Thompson confirmed he and McCarthy were prepared to meet with Favre, who said he was interested in rescinding his retirement, in late March. Favre cancelled the meeting, telling Thompson and McCarthy that he had changed his mind and wanted to stay retired. Thompson said he and McCarthy were ready to accept Favre’s return to the NFL at that time.
“Yes, we were going to leave the owners’ meeting [in West Palm Bech, Fla.] a day early and fly to Hattiesburg with the idea of sitting down and talking to him about coming back to the team,” Thompson said.
So they were open to the idea, but Favre changed his mind… again. No wonder they are trying to be cautious here.
But it seems that Favre is 100% committed to playing football this season. He said as much in a conference call this week with the Packer brass. He even went so far as to ask for his release, if the Packers weren’t going to welcome him back.
The Packers have now said that he is welcome to come back, but he isn’t guaranteed his starting job. Thompson and McCarthy are trying to sort through the details.
“We don’t know where everything is going to go,” Thompson said. “It’s been a distraction. It’s been a distraction for our fans. I’m trying to stay steady and do the right things for the Packers and do the right thing for Brett Favre. I care about the legacy of Brett Favre. I care about the legacy of the Green Bay Packers.”
“Quite frankly, it’s a little gut-wrenching as an organization to go through it, and certainly for Mike and myself,” Thompson said. “This stuff hurts a lot of people. I mean, it hurts. I’m not talking about physically hurting, but the sensitivity. We understand where the fans are coming from. This is a hot-button issue that surpasses anything I’ve ever gone through.”
I just wish this Favre could go back in time and tell the about-to-retire Favre to hang tight. Things would be so much simpler.
Still, the choice is (relatively) easy. Let him come back to the active roster and give him his job back. It’s what the fans want.
