NFL - Sports Rumors - Green Bay Packers

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Brett Favre's last pass was against the Giants. His next pass should be for the Jets wrote New York Daily News NFL columnist Gary Myers. Favre wants to play, but the Packers are behaving like they would rather bring back Bart Starr. The Jets are still searching for an identity, a quarterback and a Super Bowl, all these years after Broadway Joe. Connect the dots and there's a match.

The New York Jets should get on the phone to Green Bay Packers GM Ted Thompson and make an offer for Favre, especially now that there are reports that the Packers have asked multiple teams what they would give up for the future Hall of Famer. The sight of him firing passes for the Jets would create an electric environment. "He would give the Jets legitimate hope," one GM said Tuesday morning. "It makes sense for them."

Mike Tannenbaum and Eric Mangini spent a lot of Woody Johnson's money in the offseason loading up on linemen and linebackers trying to make sure the Jets don't go 4-12 again. They've created a win-now team, but they but don't have a win-now quarterback, a slight oversight. The Jets will try to get it done with Chad Pennington, an injury-prone veteran with a weak arm, or Kellen Clemens, a strong-armed kid who finished last season as the starter but played so poorly that Mangini has thrown him into an open competition this summer rather than bestow him with the title of incumbent. That says a lot.

This is not fantasy football, where you can just deal for Tom Brady or Peyton Manning and make everything all right. But the Jets are presented with a unique and unexpected opportunity to trade for the NFL's all-time leader in touchdowns, yards, attempts and completions. Interceptions, too. Favre is available and he is coming off one of his best seasons with 4,155 yards, 28 TDs and 15 INTs. Pennington and Clemens combined for 3,294 yards, 15 TDs and 19 INTs.

At this point in his life and career, the 38-year-old Favre and the grand stage of New York are a fit. The Jets have done a nice job of improving their talent in the offseason and Favre would have a legitimate chance to win. Sending him to the Jets would allow the Packers to get him out of the NFC.

Source: New York Daily News

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We know this much about the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders: They aren't dealing with trade offers for Brett Favre. Is he playing? Retiring? Demanding a trade? Bored with driving his lawn tractor in circles in Kiln, Miss. Who cares?

Given what we've seen from the Green Bay Packers' quarterback the past two weeks, maybe Favre should invest in a Waffle House, which are as ubiquitous in the South as pickup trucks and mildew.

The Bay Area NFL teams might not be playoff locks, or even sure bets to reach the magical .500 mark. But they don't need Favre. Heck, they've got plenty of quarterbacks — a pair of young, expensive No. 1 overall draft picks in Alex Smith and JaMarcus Russell, along with ample backup possibilities.

So Favre can waver, whine, accuse or tamper somewhere else. Here in the Bay Area, the 49ers and Raiders will be busy with two of the most intriguing training camps in the NFL, on and off the field.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

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It's possible Brett Favre could do another about-face and decide to stay retired, but that seems unlikely. He has made it clear he wants to play again according to a report in the Philadelphia Daily News.

If not for the Green Bay Packers, then another team. Packers general manager Ted Thompson, who seems to be in a hurry to kick-start the Aaron Rodgers era, even though there still isn't tangible evidence that the guy can play, has said Favre can come back as Rodgers' backup, which is his not-so-subtle way of saying, "Stay the hell in Mississippi and leave us alone." If Favre calls Thompson's bluff and shows up at training camp in 10 days, it could get ugly in Green Bay.

Favre has asked the Packers to release him if they don't want him back. But that won't happen, because then he'd be able to sign with any quarterback-needy team in the league, including the two in the Packers' divisional backyard, the Bears and Vikings. The most likely scenario is a trade to a team outside the NFC North, preferably an AFC team.

Source: Philadelphia Daily News

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Two brothers from Milwaukee have set up a Web site and held the first of what they claim will be weekly rallies outside of Lambeau Field to try to persuade the Green Bay Packers to bring back quarterback Brett Favre. About 200 people showed up, a laughable demonstration, true enough. But laugh at your peril. This could be all of us, sooner rather than later according to Philadelphia Daily News columnist Rich Hofmann.

Now, if Donovan McNabb were to get hurt again this season, really hurt, or if he were to play terribly this season, really terribly, it all will be easy enough for the Eagles. They will move on, give the quarterback job to Kevin Kolb, and do it with the complete support of the community. They will do their best to talk up McNabb's future prospects and past accomplishments as they trade him someplace — and, preferably, someplace far away. But they will do it and there will be no complaints.

The problem is that life is not usually like that. What if it is an injury that nags but does not debilitate? What if it is a lousy year caused by injuries that decimate the offensive line? What if he has a good year but the defense collapses? What if he has a weak year but the defense carries the Eagles a goodly distance? What if McNabb is just OK on a team that is just OK?

What if it is like that, less black-and-white and more gray? What then?

Because there is nothing more wrenching for an NFL franchise than replacing a long-term incumbent quarterback. Even when it is easy, it isn't. And when it isn't easy, it is the kind of thing that completely dominates every second of a team's existence until it is over — and you often cannot even predict when it will be over.

So laugh at the Packers' predicament if you will. Just remember who warned you.

Source: Philly.com

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Asked if he was concerned that Aaron Rodgers would spurn the Green Bay Packers when his contract expires after this season if he were stripped of his starting job at the start of training camp, Thompson said, "We'll deal with that when it comes up."

Then he said, "Aaron Rodgers is our starting quarterback."

Green Bay GM Ted Thompson declined to answer which quarterback gives the Packers the best chance to go to the Super Bowl, but when asked why the ship had sailed on Favre coming back as a starter, he said too much planning had gone into the season to shift gears.

"Things have changed," Thompson said. "Things are not the same as they were at the end of the season, but at the same time, if he applied for reinstatement he would go back on the active Green Bay Packer roster. Like I said, I don't have all the answers here, but things have changed."

Thompson admitted that anything could happen between now and the start of training camp July 28, and that though the team will discuss the possibility of Favre coming back, it will do nothing until Favre signs reinstatement papers. Though Favre has now made it clear he wants to come back, he has not officially informed the Packers at anytime this off-season that he wants to play for the Packers again, Thompson said.

Source: Journal-Sentinel

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There is no question that quarterback Brett Favre is serious about his return to the National Football League. Brett Favre wants his release from the Packers, but the team is unlikely to make it easy for the retired quarterback. But as committed as he is to playing again, the Green Bay Packers are just as serious about moving on without him, which means if Favre wants to play it will have to be for another team.

So which team will it be?

Favre would like to be able to choose from the other 31 teams, which is why he reportedly sent a letter to the Packers asking for his unconditional release. But according to sources close to the situation, that will never happen and if Favre wants to play somewhere else it will be for a team of the Packers' choosing. According to the source, the Packers won't release Favre because it would open the door for him to sign with one of the three other NFC North teams, which general manager Ted Thompson would never allow to happen.

Letting Favre walk away, potentially to a division rival, with no compensation would undermine Thompson's leadership of the organization.

It's possible the Packers will give Favre's agent, James "Bus" Cook, permission to speak to a list of Packers-approved teams in order to get things going. But more than likely, Thompson will put his top two lieutenants, directors of football operations Reggie McKenzie and John Schneider, on the case and tell them to find the best deal possible.

There is some indication that Favre and Cook already have several teams picked out, which is why they want the quarterback to be released. A client of Cook's recently told a friend that the Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers were the teams that were most interested, but the Packers are also convinced that the Minnesota Vkings would be in the running as well.

Source: Journal-Sentinel

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The news that Brett Favre has asked the Green Bay Packers to give him his release so he can pursue a deal with another National Football League team is a public relations nightmare for the franchise and the iconic quarterback.Now Favre has changed all that by signaling his desire to be released and play for another team.

"Favre has thrown a knuckleball the Packers can't catch," said Evan Zeppos, a veteran public relations executive in Milwaukee. "The Packers are in a no-win situation. Right now, the Packers say they want to move forward. Are they going to reverse course? They can't. If they do, they better do it quickly."

"It's a PR mess," added Marc Ganis, the head of Sportscorp Ltd., a Chicago-based sports consulting firm. "It's got to be frustrating for all parties."

Ganis said it didn't matter who is right or wrong in the matter. Perception counts and right now, Packers management is on the defensive, he said. Ganis drew the analogy of what happened in Chicago when Jerry Krause was general manager of the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls won six National Basketball Association championships with Jordan. But Ganis said many people in Chicago still considered Krause the man who drove Jordan and then coach Phil Jackson out of town. Never mind that Krause was the architect of a dynasty.

"Right now, the Packers management team is faced with the perception that they will be known as the guys who ran Favre out of town," Ganis said.

Source: Journal-Sentinel

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Green Bay Packers Coach Mike McCarthy made an appearance at the Boys and Girls Club of Green Bay on Wednesday and was grilled with questions about Brett Favre's rumored comeback — by the kids in attendance.

Eleven-year old Miranda Black of nearby Oconto Falls began the inquest with the biggest question in the state these days: "Um, is Brett Favre coming back?"

McCarthy sidestepped.

"I want to know which one of those media individuals made you say that," McCarthy said, referring to reporters standing in the back of the room.

But the questions continued. Many of the 75 kids shouted questions about Favre such as: Why did he quit? How old is he, anyway? The barrage finally ended when one child asked McCarthy to sign some T-shirts.

"Sure," McCarthy joked. "It's better than answering these questions."

Source: Los Angeles Times

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With reports of Brett Favre planning to send a letter within the next week or so seeking to be placed on the Green Bay Packers' active roster, there has been much discussion and speculation about whether Favre wants to play for the team he has quarterbacked since 1992, and vice-versa.

One factor that has been omitted is whether Favre's teammates would welcome him back.

According to Profootballtalk.com, the answer is a resounding "hell yes."

So if Favre returns to the Packers, what will happen with Aaron Rodgers? He is signed through 2009 at manageable salaries of $680,000 and $800,000 over the next two seasons, respectively, under a contract that includes escalators based on playing time. He could demand a trade. Possible suitors (as we see it) would include the Buccaneers, the Seahawks, the 49ers (who considered taking him instead of Alex Smith with the No. 1 overall pick in 2005), and any of the three NFC North rivals whose depth charts at the position would be upgraded instantly with the arrival of Rodgers.

Source: Profootballtalk.com

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