Wow. A source close to the Packers has revealed that the team is going to allow Favre to compete for the starting job.
Another source close to the club, said that the Packers have agreed to allow Favre to compete with Aaron Rodgers for the starting job and he won’t necessarily be the backup this season. Trade talks with Favre have not advanced and coach Mike McCarthy is expected to come up with a plan that will split the practice repetitions with Rodgers.
This is a huge shift from the Packers’ perspective. All along, they’ve been saying that they were going to move on with Aaron Rodgers as their quarterback, but evidently Favre’s (understandable) stubbornness, along with the prospect of the media circus that would ensue once he got to camp, has convinced the team to allow him to try to win his job back.
Regular readers know I am a die-hard Packers fan, and this shift in policy only seems fair. Other than having to deal with the uncertainty each offseason, the Packers’ resistance to Favre’s return never made a whole lot of sense. Cutting him wasn’t an option, as he could go and play for the Vikings. Trading him turned out not to be an option, because Favre wouldn’t meet with the Bucs or the Jets. This is the only fair and equitable course of action.
So now we’ll have a camp battle between a future Hall of Famer (and runner-up in the 2007 MVP voting) versus… Aaron Rodgers. I wonder who is going to win…
By all accounts, Rodgers has looked pretty sharp in camp, though one has to wonder how he’s going to play under this kind of pressure. Favre, assuming he hasn’t lost “it,” should be able to seize his old job back.
Unless, of course, this whole competition is just a farce and the team is planning on giving the job to Rodgers regardless of how either QB plays. Obviously, the preseason games will be vitally important to the public’s perception of the QB battle.
From the POV of a Packer fan, this situation just went from frustrating to interesting in the blink of an eye.
Monday morning update (8/4): The Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel is reporting that the Packers have contacted the Vikings about a potential trade. Just when I thought this was over…
The MCL injury could keep Jackson out of the Vikings’ preseason game next Saturday against the Steelers but the injury isn’t considered serious enough to sideline him for the start of the regular season.
