[NY Daily News] NFL Source: Favre to Vikings likely

All signs point to former Jets QB Brett Favre returning to NFL with the Vikings

Saturday, May 2nd 2009, 3:21 PM


Brett Favre eventually will go back to Green Bay, make peace with the organization that humiliated him when it didn't want him back last summer and traded him to the Jets, and retire as a Packer. But he didn't need the Jets to release him last week from the last two years of his contract for that to happen.

So, let's connect the dots and see where they lead:

• Favre retired in February, but the Jets refused his request to release him, wanting to keep his rights in the event he changed his mind and wanted to play again - he is prone to flip-flop, of course - and Kellen Clemens and Brett Ratliff stunk up their new $75 million practice facility in the offseason.

• The Jets traded up to get Mark Sanchez in the draft last weekend and the text-messaging between GM Mike Tannenbaum and Favre intensified. Favre still wanted to completely cut his contractual ties with the Jets. Three days later, the Jets released him. Sources say Favre, who will be 40 in October, wants to keep his options open. Favre released a statement saying, "At this time, I am retired and have no intention of returning to football."

The three key words: "At this time."

• The Vikings are a quarterback short of being a Super Bowl contender, and they need to sell tickets and have been trying for years to get a new stadium.

If Favre was planning to stay retired, why would he even request the Jets cut him? The dots? They lead right to Minnesota, exactly where Favre wanted to be traded last year. The Vikes have Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson, meaning Favre can step in and try to write a better ending to his career after he ran out of gas with the Jets and stick it to the Packers at the same time.

One NFL source insists Favre can't peacefully retire until he finds a way to get revenge on the Packers. He wants back into the NFC North so he can face the Packers twice. The Bears traded for Jay Cutler and the Lions drafted Matthew Stafford. Hello, Minnesota.

"Favre can't stand Green Bay," the source said. "He wants to play Green Bay and say, 'I told you so.' His bitterness is creating this. I think he's calling Minnesota. I think Minnesota is talking about this as we speak. You haven't heard the end of Favre. No way. He is bionic. As long as somebody will let him in, he will play."

The Jets did Favre a huge favor by cutting him now. They were under no obligation to let him go. But Favre actually had the Jets in a vulnerable position and ultimately they would have no choice but to cut him if he came out of retirement:

• The Jets are $12 million under the salary cap. Favre's base salary for 2009 is $13 million. If Favre told the Jets tomorrow he was coming back, they would be given three days by the NFL to activate him. To activate him, they would have to get under the cap. To trade him, he would have to be activated. They are going to need a chunk of that $12 million cap number to sign Sanchez. They could no longer afford Favre. The math didn't work.

• When the Jets traded for Favre last August, the Packers smartly put in a poison pill that made it impossible for the Jets to turn around and trade Favre to the Vikings, Bears or Lions. If they traded him to an NFC North team last year, they would have had to give the Packers three first-round draft choices. If they did it this year, they would have had to give the Packers two first-round picks.

The Jets are convinced the Vikings are the only team Favre wants. If they felt they could trade him anywhere else, they might have considered retaining his rights. Ultimately, they saw no reason to hold onto Favre when they couldn't get anything for him in a trade. The only way this backfires is if Tom Brady is not ready for the start of the season and Favre signs with the Patriots. By the Jets releasing him, the real loser is Green Bay if Favre goes to Minnesota and plays well. The Packers did not call the Jets to complain after they released Favre.

• Once the Jets drafted Sanchez, he became the face of the franchise and the Jets no longer wanted Favre back even if he wanted back. Favre was not a willing tutor to Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay. There's no reason to believe he would have embraced Sanchez. And the Jets wanted no part of the soap opera Favre put the Packers through last summer. The Jets rented Favre for one year at a cost of a third-round pick. It almost paid off. If they the Jets were not able to get Sanchez, they would not have cut Favre last week.

Favre has used the last four months to let his torn biceps tendon in his throwing arm heal up. The time off has also let him recharge his competitive spirit. Training camps don't open until about Aug. 1. He reportedly hired a personal trainer. The web site Pro Football Talk reported last week there was a flight that left Minneapolis for Hattiesburg, Miss., on Wednesday morning and returned later in the day. The trip supposedly was made the day after the Jets released Favre. Was the Vikings' hierarchy aboard?

Before long, Favre will be throwing to the high school kids in Hattiesburg. And then you can figure he will start leaking word around mid-June he's got the itch to play again.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/f...returning_to_nfl_with_the_vikings.html?page=0

 

Childress: Favre likely to be discussed

May 1st, 2009 – 4:01 PM by Judd Zulgad

Coach Brad Childress said the Vikings have yet to discuss the fact that Brett Favre is now on the open market and free to talk to other teams — the quarterback was released from the New York Jets reserve/retired list on Tuesday — but acknowledged the subject likely would be broached. There has been speculation that although Favre retired for a second consecutive offseason in February, he might return to play for the Vikings.

“We haven’t [talked about Favre],” Childress said. ”It doesn’t mean we won’t. We talk about everything from what’s going on in the United States on the front page today. … We talk about everything. So, yeah, I’m sure we’ll talk about that.”

The Vikings are currently planning to go to training camp with Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels battling for the top spot but Favre wanted to play for the Vikings last season and the only reason that likely didn’t happen was because the Packers refused to grant him his release. Favre was eventually traded to the Jets. Childress has known Favre since he visited the Packers on a semi-regular basis while serving as an assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin.

Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, a former Badgers quarterback who served as Favre’s position coach for a period in Green Bay, also remains good friends with Favre. Childress said he and his staff have been so busy to this point that Favre simply hasn’t come up.

“I think the thing there is we’ve had our heads down so hard here on the draft and then after the draft signing free agents and after that getting ready for this minicamp,” Childress said. ”I go through the waiver wire every night. [But] we haven’t really even had a chance to even talk about that. Our focus has been on the guys we sign and getting ready for this and then just finishing up the draft stuff.”

Childress did not say when was the last time he talked to Favre. “Like I said, I haven’t had time to do much,” he said, “aside from reeling in this draft and then we’ve had staff clinics this week from 8 to noon every day and then get back and putting this minicamp together. … And then see our guys that are in the building. I’m more focused on the guys that are here, participate in the offseason program. I’m more focused on our three quarterbacks right now. Tarvaris and Sage and J.D. [Booty that are progressing through this program and our offseason program.”

http://blogs.startribune.com/vikingsblog/?p=2801