If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Since all these rumors have started about Brett Favre the Packers have been put in a bad situation. No matter what they do they will upset someone. At this point I can only see three possibilities come out of this decision. Number one is that Favre stays retired. The second choice is that Favre returns to the Packers. The final choice is that Favre returns to the NFL with another team. I will wait with my opinion until the end of this article. I will discuss the facts, the pros, and the cons of every decision.

Favre Stays Retired

Simply put, Favre made the decision to retire this offseason. Obviously there was some reason that he decided to retire in the first place. While some people think Ted Thompson forced him to retire, I can’t believe this due to the fact that there is absolutely no proof backing up this theory. Plus if this theory was true; Ted Thompson, Mike McCarthy, and Brett Favre would all be liers since they all have said publicly that both Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy encouraged Favre to come back.

When Favre retired he told everyone in the country that he retired because he couldn’t prepare for the game mentally anymore. I want to know how a couple months off would make Favre mentally prepared to play football again.

The Packers have many reasons to hope that Favre stays retired. First of all is Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers was given the starting job finally after having to wait three seasons on the bench. Rodgers time has come and he has paid his due by sitting on the bench. If Favre comes back it will adversly impact him no matter what comes out of the situation. If Favre returns to the Packers, Rodger will have to sit on the bench for another season. Rodgers might also get fed up with the Packers after the circus he has had to go through the past three season. Rodgers might demand a trade (I personally don’t blame him either) and then the Packers are back at square one needing to develop a new quarterback for the future. If Favre returns but plays for another team, Rodgers will have to keep looking over his back. You know everyone will compare his play to Favre’s and if he doesn’t do as well everyone will take their anger out on him which will kill his confidence. If Favre stays retired the Packers can avoid this whole situation.

The Packers won’t lose much if Favre decides to stay retired. At this point Favre isn’t even technically on the team so obviously the Packers don’t lose him if he stays retired. The only things we would lose is possibly a better chance of making the Super Bowl or the trade value we could get if we decided to trade him. Most Packer fans at this point beleive that Favre gives the Packers a better chance to win right now. While that is debatable (except for the experience I think they are actually quite equal at this point), that is a valid point. The Packers could be losing their shot at the Super Bowl this season if Favre remains retired. The other thing the Packers could lose is the draft pick if they would trade Favre to another team. I think this isn’t that big since I doubt the Packers get anything more than a 2nd (have no bargaining power) and I don’t beleive that pick is worth seeing Favre in another jersey and making another team better while the Packers remain the same.

Return to the Packers

This is probably the most popular of all the options for Packer fans. As I mentioned earlier, if Favre returns we probably increase our chances of making the Super Bowl this season. While I think Rodgers is almost as good as Favre physically, Rodgers just doesn’t have the experience that Favre does so it would be harder to makes the Super Bowl with Rodgers behind center.

While the Packers do increase their chances at the Super Bowl this season, what are they giving up as far as the future of the team is concerned. As I mentioned earlier, if Favre returns don’t be shocked if Rodgers demands a trade. Rodgers will probably be fed up with Favre and the Packers if the starting job he worked so hard for was stripped away from him again.

Even if the Packers can keep Rodgers from demanding a trade (very unlikely) you are still delaying his growth. Every year that goes by we are delaying his development. Also with only one more season left on his contract after this season, we are going to have to make a decision about resigning him with very little to go on.

As far as the choice of having Favre return to the Packers, we are hoping for another run at the Super Bowl while mortgaging the future.

Let Favre Go

What about Favre playing on another team next season? While a lot of Packer fans never thought it could happen, it is becoming more and more likely each day that Favre doesn’t announce his intentions. Why would the Packers let Favre go? There really aren’t many positives. There is essentially only the pick that we get out of trading Favre (probably a 2nd rounder). Letting Favre go isn’t about getting something out of it though. It is mostly about letting Favre continue playing while deciding to move on with Rodgers.

As I have already mentioned there are quite a few cons to this decision. First is impact on the public image of both Favre and Thompson. If Favre plays for a different team next year you can guarentee that a bunch of people will be mad at both Favre and Thompson. People will hate Thompson since they will think he ran Favre out of town. People will be mad at Favre since they think he will be a traitor going to another team (I am not making this up since I have heard many people say that they will think this is Favre plays for another team).

As far as letting Favre go I think it will be with a trade and not by releasing him. The Packers have nothing to gain out of releasing him. It could also come back to hurt us if Favre signs with the Vikings or Bears (sorry Bear and Viking fans this will never happen due to loyalty to the Packers). If Favre is traded the Packers at least get something out of him and they also get to chose what team to trade him to which probably means an AFC team.

I think the Packers will go this direction if Favre insists on coming back and the Packers don’t want to get rid of Rodgers.

My Choice

As I mentioned earlier I do have an opinion on the story. As far as which option I would prefer, I would like Favre to stay retired. In my opinion this hurts the team the least since if Favre comes back it will cause a distration no matter if he plays for the Packers or another NFL team. In my opinion Favre already made his decision that it was time to hang up his cleats. Since he had a reason to quit then, I don’t know why that reason isn’t good enough for him to stay retired now. My second choice is for Favre to return to the Packers. Favre probably gives the Packers the best chance to win the Super Bowl this season which is the objective of every team. We will be sacrificing the future though so hopefully Brohm can show that he can be the QB of the future. My least favorite choice would be to trade Favre to another team. I think it is a no win situation for the Packers and should be the last resort in my opinion. I personally never want to see Favre playing for another team. Plus the damage it would do to Rodgers if Favre played better than him would ruin his confidence. So if I would have my choice on what I would like to happen I would choose retire, return and then let go.

If you enjoyed this post you should also check out:

• Subscribe to the Packers Nation Feed to be updated on all the latest updates
• post with your friends and family.
• Return to the Home Page

Other posts you might enjoy: