Packers send Favre a message

By Chris Cluff  |   Sunday, April 20, 2008  |  Comments( 1 )

Green Bay Packers
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A week after Brett Favre made it known that he would be willing to come out of retirement next fall if new starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers got hurt, the Green Bay Packers basically told the quarterback, "Thanks, but no thanks. Stay retired, Brett."

They didn't say it in those words, but the fact that the Packers quickly decided to retire Favre's No. 4 jersey during the season opener stated loud and clear that they are ready to put Favre's spectacular career in their rear-view mirror.

Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy told reporters that he consulted with Favre, general manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy. "Ultimately," Murphy said, "... we decided the first game would work great."

No better time to say goodbye (and good riddance) than in the first game, eh? There long have been rumors that Thompson and McCarthy couldn't wait for Favre to call it a career so they could move on to the future of the franchise. Of course, those rumors faded in the wake of Favre's resurgent 2007 season, as everyone saw that the three-time NFL MVP could still lead the Packers deep into the playoffs. But when Favre decided to end it anyway, Thompson and McCarthy had to sigh with relief, knowing they were free to run the team without any second-guessing from the man who had brought the Packers out of a two-decade funk and kept them as a playoff contender for almost all of his 17 seasons.

Even after Favre announced his retirement on March 6, many expected him to change his mind before the next season begins. He didn't help matters when he answered his hometown newspaper by saying he would strongly considering coming back if Rodgers were to get hurt and the team were to need him.

Favre has said the reason he retired is not because he doesn't want to play anymore but because he doesn't want to prepare to play anymore. So if he were called back at midseason, that would probably be his dream scenario.

And that explains why the Packers preempted any ideas of a midseason comeback by announcing that they would retire Favre's jersey on opening day. They surely hope that will persuade Favre to stay retired and not create a mockery of all of the goodbyes.

"I just go back to the [retirement] press conference and how emotional it was," Murphy told the Wisconsin State Journal. "To me, he's made a decision to retire and we really haven't heard anything otherwise."

Nor do they want to. Favre's retired, and that's how the Packers would like him to stay.
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About Chris Cluff

Chris Cluff spent 10 years as an editor and sportswriter for The Seattle Times. He was a key figure in the newspaper's coverage of the Seahawks, particularly during their Super Bowl run in 2005. He also has written two books on the Seahawks: "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Heart-Pounding, ...
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