Don't Come Running Back

Back on March 5, I wrote that Brett Favre prematurely retired. That it was disheartening he would walk away with gas left in the tank.

I argued the quarterback had been blessed and owed a debt to the game that treated him so well. That he needed to play until the very end, the point when the body begs for mercy.

My final line was that he would likely miss the game more than we missed him.

It turns out that he does miss playing, so much so that he’s willing to dispatch the very team and community that have made him a football legend.

The situation is already ugly and approaching sad.

There’s a lot of finger pointing between the Green Bay Packers and Favre right now. There’s even accusations of tampering. Of all teams, the Minnesota Vikings are involved. Talk about the black and blue division.

No matter where Favre ends up playing, his comeback will be a huge bruise in a remarkable career. Had he not retired, something could have been worked out between him and the Packers.

But it’s not fair that Green Bay, which has clearly moved on with alternative plans, should be faced with this public relations nightmare. The Packers selected two quarterbacks in the recent draft—highly touted Brian Brohm from Louisville in the second round and Matt Flynn of Louisiana State in the seventh round. That’s not to mention Aaron Rodgers, who is the only quarterback picked in the first round to never start a game in his first three professional seasons.

It’s evident that Green Bay is prepared to begin and finish the season with those three at quarterback.

And I’m glad. Favre has played yo-yo with the franchise for the past three or four seasons. He threatens retirement at the end of the campaign, only to announce his return at the very last minute.

It’s time that the Packers assumed control of this situation.

So it’s my guess that Favre will not play in Green Bay. If that’s the case, where will he end up?

Let me first say that he better not become a Washington Redskin. My team does not need him to regress the development of current quarterback Jason Campbell. Plus, the Redskins are now in the business of getting younger and building a team for the long haul, not renting players for a short fix.

His signing in the nation’s capital would go against everything the Redskins have done this offseason. I don’t want to win one championship, I want to hoist the trophy multiple times by building a team that’s gonna last.

Plus Favre will be expensive, and Washington will have to make moves to fit him under the cap.

That pretty much leaves Tampa Bay, who has money to spend and it will be like Rich Gannon or Brad Johnson or Jeff Garcia coming in to play for Jon Gruden. The guy loves a veteran under center.

Favre would be the perfect fit.

There’s also Minnesota, which is probably a quarterback away from a Super Bowl run. The Vikings can run the football and stop the run, two lethal combinations. What they can’t do is sustain drives or stretch the defense through the air. The gunslinging style of Favre will make the Vikings virtually unpredictable and unstoppable.

There’s also talk he might end up with the Bears, which would be in the division, or the Dolphins, or blah, blah, blah.

You know what?

When he retired back in March, Favre said he was mentally tired. Now it seems, he has created a situation that has left everyone else feeling the same way.

OUT AT HOME: My daughter is closer to the truth. She used to say ducks like to eat cars. Then she said ducks like to eat worms. The other day, she claimed ducks like to eat fish. I’m pretty sure she’ll discover the answer before I do.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK: These guys are insane.