NFL: Favre Retirement Saga Continues

It is the “deadzone” of the football season. No training camps. No rookie camps. Nothing. Even baseball is stopped for its All-Star game. So it is no surprise that a legitimately big story is getting all the pub lately.

Will he or won’t he? Brett Favre has asked to be released by the Green Bay Packers because he feels he is no longer wanted. Well there’s a reason for that Brett, they don’t want you back. Standing on the outside looking in fans and even sports writers are not privy to what goes on behind the scenes with regards to players. Whether it is a player’s interaction with the coach, general manager, or in the locker room, it is hard to get a true reading on the personality of some athletes. But something tells me that the Packers front office would love nothing more than to get rid of the headache of Brett Favre. His act is wearing thin.

Favre has been upset in recent years with GM Ted Thompson because he has not gotten help for the quarterback. In the 2005 draft Thompson drafted Aaron Rodgers, QB out of Cal in the first round. This upset Favre because he wanted a running back to help his offense. Last year Favre wanted Randy Moss, but Thompson was unable to obtain the Pro Bowl wide receiver either. But looking at these moves it is hardly possible for Favre to be upset. During the 2005 draft the Green Bay Packers selected Rodgers for two reasons, he was the best available player (should have been the top QB taken and gone to San Fran) and they were uncertain of Favre’s future. As for Moss, he accepted less money to go back to the New England Patriots this season, so Thompson tried, and last time I checked, the Packers last season had the deepest, youngest, most talented group of wide receivers in the NFC.

Sorry but the Packers organization has to move on. They asked Favre to stop his yearly game of indecision and figure out whether he will be back this year by March, which would allow the team to make the correct selections in the draft and target particular players in free agency. It would allow them to start building around Aaron Rodgers.

Now Favre is trying to say that the Packers pressured him to retire. That the right thing to do would be to release him so he can play somewhere he is wanted. Favre is painting himself as the victim. I am not bashing Favre, I am in awe of many of his accomplishments. He holds the all-time touchdown record, three MVP’s, and a Super Bowl victory. Green Bay has had a chance to win because he has been their quarterback. But in the NFL the winning franchises are the ones that drop a player a year too early before a year too late. It appears that the Packers want to get rid of the act of Brett Favre, and turn over to their fourth year QB in Aaron Rodgers.

What they should do is trade him to an AFC team that they would only play against if they met in the Super Bowl. Green Bay crosses over from the NFC to play the AFC South division with the Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars. All of these teams have confidence in their quarterbacks and wouldn’t seek Favre anyway.

I hope for the Packers sake that they can get out from under this problem as gracefully as possible. The media and fans generally love Favre and will be sympathetic to him, but when you scratch below the surface it is clear that this was brought on by Favre’s own inability to decide whether he wants to play or not. I never think it is right to tell a player to retire. Players should play as long as they want, but in this case, it should be as far away from Green Bay as possible.

-Michael DiPetta