The other day when I spoke to Mark Murphy, the Packers president said he has not personally spoken to Brett Favre about returning to Green Bay for a number-retirement ceremony.
But Murphy wants it to happen within the next couple of years. And it is going to happen. So fill up the comments section with all the anti-Favre smack you want, but my hunch is it's going to happen by 2014.
Of course, it can't happen unless Favre wants it to happen. And you can bet No. 4 wants it to happen for all the right reasons, as well as for the way he could cash in and get the attention he craves. And let's face it, he's not getting a lot of attention now.
You can tell he's missing the spotight because he's starting to give interviews again. He talked at length recently about the current state of NFL quarterbacking. He had some nice things to say about Tony Romo, the local guy who catches a lot of grief in Dallas for his inconsistent play and sometimes for his off-the-field life.
I don't want to call this a "healing process" on Favre's part, because he pretty much instigated the mess in 2008, when the Packers told him they were going to start Aaron Rodgers that season. They said he could be No. 2 or retire, and then the fireworks began. I'm not sure if he's ever going to apologize for being a clown by flying in to defy and upstage the franchise during the inter-squad scrimmage, but he's finally starting to mend a few fences in the best way he knows how.
Believe it or not, he's starting to pay Rodgers what looks to be sincere compliments. Favre never had anything to publicly say, period, about Rodgers when they were teammates, except for that time when Favre said it wasn't his job to take Rodgers under his wing. An aging Favre felt threated by Rodgers' presence, and his worst fears played out in early '08 when Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson gave him the news that Rodgers was now the guy.
Four years later, Favre is finally ready to recognize Rodgers' skills. I agree with NFL blogger John Katzowitz in this piece that there is nothing back-handed about Favre's compliments.
But I'd take it one step further. I think Favre is finally beginning the process of reaching out to the Packers after one of ugliest high-profile divorces in pro-sports history. Favre knows it's for his own good because he realizes what being re-associated with a world-class brand like the Green Bay Packers could do for him. He needs the Packers more than the Packers need him, but wasn't that the lesson that was taken away from the awful split? No one is bigger than the Packers, not even Favre. That said, there is a Green Bay-Favre legacy that must be recognized and eventually celebrated.
And to me, he never has to apologize for signing with the Vikings, because just about anyone in his position would have done that. Set aside for a moment that the Vikings are the hated rival - and, of course, he wanted to stick it to Thompson - but the Vikings were a play or so away from the Super Bowl that year.
I just want to hear Favre apologize for his behavior during that divisive summer of '08, while Rodgers sensibly kept his mouth shut. Rodgers has always been the good guy in this episode, and he quietly got his revenge by winning the MVP.
Michael Hunt wrote: