Tag: Brett Favre comeback (Page 3 of 4)

According to a report by ESPN.com, Brett Favre consulted Dr. James Andrews, a highly respected doctor among athletes, on what kind of exercises would help strengthen his biceps injury so he wouldn’t have to go under the knife.

The development further indicates Favre’s willingness to consider coming out of retirement to sign with the Minnesota Vikings, particularly if there is a non-surgical solution to his damaged shoulder.

The source said Andrews and Favre experimented with one of several exercises that could accelerate the process of the tendon releasing on its own. During an interview with ESPN in February, Favre mentioned that he had a partially torn biceps tendon in his left shoulder during his Green Bay Packers career and that the pain subsided once it completely tore naturally.

If that fails to produce the desired results, it remains uncertain whether Favre would endure even arthroscopic surgery to prolong his career to a 19th season. A source close to Favre described that as an option but a projected 3-6 week rehabilitation is unappealing to the quarterback, who will apparently require no therapy if the tendon can be forced to tear through the exercise regimen.

This report doesn’t necessarily mean that Favre intends on playing again next season, but it sure as hell looks like he’s trying to do everything in his power in order to come back. (And I do mean everything seeing as how he has been working out with a high school team to stay in shape.)

Team president Mark Wilf reiterated that Minnesota is still interested in signing Brett Favre, although he won’t confirm if any meeting has been established between the Vikings and the grizzled vet.

“Certainly a player of Brett Favre’s (credentials), a Hall of Fame quarterback, with the competitive he has, that is a player that we would have interest as we would have other players,” Wilf said. “But, again, its process of evaluation and a variety of factors that go into it and that has to play itself out and I defer to our coach and our personnel people to really evaluate those issues.”

Wilf said he and the ownership group entrusted such decisions to head coach Brad Childress and player personnel vice president Rick Spielman and their respective staffs.
Asked directly if anyone from the organization has met with Favre in the last week, Wilf said, “I’m not aware of any meeting.

“But, the fact is, like I say, any football personnel matters, medical matters ,those types of issues, are really issues that we don’t typically discuss publicly,” Wilf said. “. And I hope the fans and the media can appreciate that. Because that’s the right way, we feel, to get the best product on the field and get our ultimate goal of a Super Bowl championship.”

Since ESPN reported last Tuesday that Childress was planning to meet with Favre, the Vikings have been mum on the matter, which has become the central NFL story in a usually quiet period of the offseason.

The Vikings don’t need to rush into any decision regarding Favre because they seem to be the only team competing for his services. By all accounts, Favre only wants to play for the Vikings, which means the team can take its time analyzing his health and whether or not pursuing him is the right move for the 2009 season. (Any consideration past 2009 wouldn’t be worth discussing since Favre changes his mind more than a 16-year old girl in possession of her father’s credit card while at the mall.)

What a surprise – it turns out that Brett Favre could still be Minnesota bound.

According to a report by ESPN.com, the Vikings are apparently evaluating X-rays that Favre had taken on his injured throwing arm to determine whether or not to pursue signing him..

A source close to the situation told ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap on Friday that X-rays of Favre’s right shoulder — he has pain resulting from a torn biceps tendon — have been sent to the Vikings and that the X-rays are in the process of being evaluated. If it is determined by Favre’s and the Vikings’ medical people that he needs anything less than “major” surgery on his shoulder, Favre will un-retire to play for the Vikings, the source said.

If “major” surgery is necessary, Favre will remain retired, the source said.

The news comes on the day after Yahoo! Sports reported that the 39-year-old Favre told Vikings coach Brad Childress he would remain retired.

Bus Cook, Favre’s agent, told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols on Friday that he did not know of any X-rays being sent to Minnesota.

Why would Yahoo! Sports report that Favre told the Vikings he’s planning on staying retired, only to have ESPN come out the next day and say that the Vikings are basing their decision on whether or not to sign him on his X-rays? Something doesn’t add up here.

Either way, as I wrote yesterday when the Yahoo! Sports report broke, until I don’t see Favre’s frumpy ass in purple and white by kickoff of Week 1, I’m going to assume that he’ll be a Viking in 2009.

Even though the Jets have moved on from the 2008 experiment with Brett Favre, his ex-teammates still can’t help but to lob a few grenades in his direction while he flirts (flirted?) with the idea of joining the Vikings.

To a man, the Jets said they weren’t surprised by the latest on Favre, and many wished him well, but there were traces of bitterness. After all, he quit after only one season with the Jets, claiming he was finished with football. Now there’s talk of him playing for the Vikings.

The media-friendly Kerry Rhodes refused to discuss Favre, saying, “I don’t want to get into it.” Jerricho Cotchery said, “Before he came to us, the whole thing was he wanted to go to Minnesota. You kind of feel bad if you were the team he settled for.”

Another player, who requested anonymity, launched this salvo at the future Hall of Famer: “I’m tired of being part of his soap opera. If he really wanted to win a championship, he’d be right here. Let’s call it for what it is: He wants to play for Minnesota so he can stick it to Green Bay twice a year. He’s just being selfish. I’m not surprised.”

Late Thursday, Yahoo! Sports reported that Favre had informed the Vikings that he’s going to stay retired, although nothing official came from Favre – his agent told ESPN that Favre is retired but left the door open for a change of heart.

I wasn’t around the situation to know for sure, but it seemed like Brett never embraced the Jets. Granted, maybe he never embraced the Jets because he felt as though they didn’t embrace him, but you got the sense that the Big Apple was just going to be a brief stint for him, which it inevitably turned out to be.

I don’t blame Jets players for questioning Favre’s motives to play last year and his possible motivations for continuing to play. Does he really want to help a team win a Super Bowl or is he only continuing to play to fulfill some self-serving prophecy? Did he really want to help the Jets win last year or did he just want to prove to Ted Thompson and the Packers that he could still play?

It seems that if he is going to come back, he’ll only do so if it’s the absolute best situation for Brett. I don’t know whether or not to applaud him for being smart (after all, what player in their right mind would want to join a situation where they might not succeed?) or join the unnamed Jets’ player and call him selfish.

According to a report by Yahoo! Sports, Brett Favre has turned down the Vikings’ attempts to sign him and will now stay retired.

In a phone call that took place sometime in the last day, the source said Favre told Vikings coach Brad Childress that he wanted to remain retired. Favre is expected to publicly explain his decision soon.

Favre, who announced his first retirement in March 2008 after spending 16 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, decided to resume his career last summer and was traded to the New York Jets in August. After one season in New York, Favre retired again and was subsequently released by the Jets on April 29.

Just days after his release from the Jets, speculation began that the Vikings were interested in bringing in a veteran to compete with Sage Rosenfels(notes), who was acquired this offseason from the Houston Texans. Rosenfels is atop the depth chart heading into training camp, with Tarvaris Jackson and John David Booty(notes) also on the roster.

The moment the Vikings step onto the field in Week 1 of the new season and I don’t see a No. 4 jersey with Favre on the back, then I’ll believe Brett isn’t coming back. For now, I’m just going to assume that he’s upset that Childress has asked him to show up to minicamp and he’s going to bide his time until most of the padded workouts are complete.

I’m not going to believe anything until it comes out of Brett Favre’s mouth. And even then I’m going to question the hell out of what he says.