Favre Keeps Throwing Packers Curveballs

Brett Favre’s flip-flopping is causing turmoil in the Packers organization as they prepare for the possibility that he returns despite the team trying to move on without him.

The strange saga of Brett Favre continues to spin out of control, as the Packers and the future Hall of Famer remain at odds over his future.

It was learned that Favre asked for his unconditional release earlier this week – a request that the Packers flatly denied. To complicate matters, the Packers told Favre he is welcome back, but if he returns, it would be as Aaron Rodgers’ backup. If Favre is going anywhere else, the Packers want to have at some say in where that is. The team has the upper hand in that – as long as Favre is under contract, he can’t go anywhere unless the team approves.

With a story like this, rumors are running rampant. Reports out of Milwaukee say that the Vikings were one of the teams that have contacted Green Bay officials about Favre’s availability. Another report says that Favre’s agent Bus Cook has set his focus on Miami and Carolina, which is hard to fathom if Favre’s true intent is to play for a championship team.

Packers G.M. Tommy Thompson faced a throng of media types Saturday, as he held interviews to basically lay out the team’s position, which he maintains is that Rodgers is now the starter and, while the Packers would welcome Favre back, it wouldn’t be as their starter.

Favre could cause some problems for Green Bay if he decides to return. The Packers put Favre on the retired list, which has allowed them to recoup his salary cap money for use elsewhere. If Favre does decide to report to the Packers and “unretired,” the Packers will be back on the hook for his $12 million salary, which might cause the Packers to adjust their salary-cap strategy.

There still has been no official on-camera comment from Favre, who seems to be using his friends at ESPN.com as his official mouthpiece. There are some that are speculating that Cook has devised the ploy to make Favre available to everyone by getting his release and others are speculating that Favre, who has a history of announcing his on-again, off-again retirement, has played Thompson and head coach Mike McCarthy by changing his mind at least twice since March about whether to come back or stay retired.

This story keeps getting stranger and, with less than two weeks remaining until teams report for training camp, it won’t be long until we find out one way or the other where Favre ends up – Green Bay, somewhere else in the NFL or just at home.