Favre asks to be released

Brett Favre asked the Packers to release him so he can return to the NFL with another team after apparently being told his latest retirement reversal wasn’t welcome news in Green Bay.

The team said it would do “what’s right” in response to Favre’s request, which was first reported by ESPN.

“Brett earned and exercised the right to retire on his terms,” the team’s statement said.

“We wanted him to return and welcomed him back on more than one occasion. Brett’s press conference and subsequent conversations in the following weeks illustrated his commitment to retirement. The finality of his decision to retire was accepted by the organization. At that point, the Green Bay Packers made the commitment to move forward with our football team.”

The 38-year-old Favre retired March 6 after a 17-year career, but almost immediately began dropping hints that he was having second thoughts.

The Packers statement said Favre now has the right to petition NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to be reinstated, at which point he would return to the team’s active roster.


In this Nov. 11, 2007 file pho…

AP - Jul 9, 4:07 pm EDT
But the statement did not specify what the Packers would do after that, beyond doing “what’s right and in the best interest of the team.”

If the team has committed to moving forward without Favre, their options once he was reinstated would include trading him to another team or releasing him so he would be free to sign with the team of his choice. The Packers already have committed to going with quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a first-round pick in 2005 who has been sitting behind Favre for his first three seasons in the NFL.

Releasing Favre presents the possibility that he will sign with NFC North rivals Minnesota or Chicago, where he would be an upgrade over the incumbent QBs. If the Packers traded him, there would be teams outside the division such as Baltimore or Tampa Bay, and perhaps Washington, that would be interested. There also has been speculation he could go to Miami for disgruntled defensive end Jason Taylor, the 2006 defensive player of the year.

It would be an ugly end to what has been one of the most celebrated partnerships in recent NFL history.

“As with all Packers greats, Brett’s legacy will always be celebrated by our fans and the organization, regardless of any change in his personal intentions,” the statement said. “Brett and Deanna will always be a part of the Packers family.”

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported Friday that sources close to Favre and the team told him agent James “Bus” Cook asked the Packers for Favre’s release in a letter because the Packers were not receptive to the idea of Favre wanting to play again.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slu...v=ap&type=lgns

He is starting to sound like Roger Clemens

See, this is just annoying. Apparently, Favre expected the team to...what...grovel at his feet and beg him to PLEASE come BACK, Brett! But, they didn't so he 'demands' to be let go? Go away.

You know he wouldn't have been in this position if he'd quit play acting at retiring. Either play or retire and quit jerking peoples chain. I don't buy the bunk that he just has the desire/fire etc to keep playing. Probably crapped when he saw that the team took him at his word.

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Originally Posted by Arctic Blast

See, this is just annoying. Apparently, Favre expected the team to...what...grovel at his feet and beg him to PLEASE come BACK, Brett! But, they didn't so he 'demands' to be let go? Go away.

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Originally Posted by RickD

You know he wouldn't have been in this position if he'd quit play acting at retiring. Either play or retire and quit jerking peoples chain. I don't buy the bunk that he just has the desire/fire etc to keep playing. Probably crapped when he saw that the team took him at his word.

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I just don't see it this way. (Full Disclosure: No Packers OR Favre fan). But you two might just have it right on the head. And if you're right, then I totally agree. I hope they do the exact OPPOSITE of whatever he asks (or should I say demands?).

But I've been following this and knowing a little about the business (very, very little), I DO think maybe he was, I dunno if pressured is the right word, but "pushed" maybe??? I mean, does anyone else get that at least just a little bit??? And if he was, ahem, "pushed" aside, even slightly, then doesn't that really turn the quote/unquote BAD GUYS in this to be the Packers?? After all the years he gave them??

I dunno, but could some of you help me get or understand why Brett is the real "Bad Guy" in this one???

Please, I'm REALLY not trying to start an argument. This one really intrigues me. I mean, this guy is a HOF QB no???? Perhaps the best of his generation??? (Elway may have a word or two on that one, but that's another discussion, because I don't think the Broncos in any way "pushed" Elway one way or the other.)

Anyway, what I thought were total rumors now has me following it closely, and I'm not even that big a fan of football. In fact, I'm even beginning to wonder if this is not the very effect intended, because I really DON'T follow football that closely.

I actually like Favre, though his recent antics have been lowering my respect for him

I like Favre, am not a packers fan and I don't see how you can't like favre. Antics however????

Dude, the guys at the point where he wants to retire....the game wears on him and he thought he was certain he was ready to go. He changed his mind.....and has every right to do so. He will never have another opportunity to play this game again, and if he's learned his heart is still in it then he owes it to himself to try and go it again.

Do I think he was pushed? No. I think he didn't want to leave the team hanging like in the past and pushed himself into trying to make a quick decision.

Is it wrong to asked to be released? No. If the team has said they would prefer you not to come back, nothing wrong with asking for a release. The team COULD say no....and has every right to do so. Yes the Packers are in a lose/lose situation, but Favre shouldn't sacrifice his last years if he's decided he still wants to play. The Packers just have to suck it up and stop whining. Now its them that has to sh!t or get off the pot.

I am truly surprised with all the Favre hatred. Nobody should be made to retire....and I know he wasn't made to initially but he's said now that he wants to continue playing. Good enough for me, go get em Favre and I wish him the best of luck.

OFG : The thing is, Favre sort of cryptically hinted that MAYBE he'd like to come back...silence came from the Packers organization, then his next official communication is that he wants them to release him. That's why I kinda wonder where this is coming from. I mean, you sort of pussyfoot around, now suddenly you're demanding your release in to free agency? That's a rather large jump to take, UNLESS you expected them to come running back. And the team would be completely mad to let him go...considering both the Bears and Vikings in their own DIVISION would have STRONG interest, and would LOVE to bring him in just to put it in Green Bay's face.

The most likely move is still a trade...I'll be curious to see how eager he suddenly is to make a comeback when his rights are about to be moved to the Miami Dolphins. :rolleyes: (Though, with Jon Gruden's apparent need to keep building a quarterback collection in Tampa, that actually could be a possibility. So could Atlanta, which would be kinda interesting, since that's where his career started).

dickay : I have been a Favre fan (like you said, how can you NOT like watching the guy play?), but I really don't understand his machinations, here. How does he go from hinting at a comeback to grumpily demanding his release within a few days? And with the Packers doing nothing that would seem to cause that sort of a jump? I really don't know what's going through his head. You wanna come back, fine, that's your right...but you can't expect everyone to immediately drop everything in 2 minutes because King Favre demands it.

I have been a die hard favre and Packer fan for all my life. I love Favre but I have to admit this is getting ridicoulos. I want Favre to come back, but I totally understand the Packers issue. Ted Thompson is in a big mess. Favre should have never announced he was going to retire. This is getting really hard to deal with. I was devasted when Favre retired. Just starting to get over it. Now this... Unbelievable.

Like I said, I don't have a huge issue with the comeback, I just don't understand why he's making everything so adversarial.

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How does he go from hinting at a comeback to grumpily demanding his release within a few days? And with the Packers doing nothing that would seem to cause that sort of a jump? I really don't know what's going through his head. You wanna come back, fine, that's your right...but you can't expect everyone to immediately drop everything in 2 minutes because King Favre demands it.

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Do you really believe that all the correspondence between these two has been public? Or that all the info the media is throwing at us is completely true? Cmon now, surely there is more to this. If, and I should emphasise 'if' favre is 'demanding' a release (which I haven't read) than surely its because of a breakdown during talks with the Packers.

Nothing wrong with him wanting to play again...I find it interesting that so many are siding with the Packers thinking they have all the information and Favre is in the wrong.

Dickay, your post #7 says it all for me(except that I am a Packers
fan). Well stated!

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Originally Posted by dickay

Do you really believe that all the correspondence between these two has been public? Or that all the info the media is throwing at us is completely true? Cmon now, surely there is more to this. If, and I should emphasise 'if' favre is 'demanding' a release (which I haven't read) than surely its because of a breakdown during talks with the Packers.

Nothing wrong with him wanting to play again...I find it interesting that so many are siding with the Packers thinking they have all the information and Favre is in the wrong.

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From a fan's standpoint I hope the Packers don't release him. The thought of him in a Bears or Vikings jersey makes me want to throw up in my mouth. I just read the article in the paper, it appears that the relationship between Favre and McCarthy & Thompson has broken down. I don't know if we'll ever get the whole story. I would like Favre to hold a news confrence or the packers to hold a news confrenece so there can be some kind of explanation.

Favre is an incredible QB and that's hard to admit for a Bears fan but every season the last few years he plays the will he or won't he game. Finally he bites the bullet and retires. The team moves on then he "changes" his mind.....he has that right but the team made plans when he retired, they are under no obligation to bring him back. I would however not release him but see what you can get in a trade.

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Originally Posted by MichelleWie

From a fan's standpoint I hope the Packers don't release him. The thought of him in a Bears or Vikings jersey makes me want to throw up in my mouth. I just read the article in the paper, it appears that the relationship between Favre and McCarthy & Thompson has broken down. I don't know if we'll ever get the whole story. I would like Favre to hold a news confrence or the packers to hold a news confrenece so there can be some kind of explanation.

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Now that is a very fair post. As a fan I think its fair to say this, and the Packers could simply let him rot if they choose. It is a no-win for the Pack. It is also fair to say that you wish Favre had told the team earlier of his intentions. I don't think its fair to beat Favre up for wanting to continue his career however.

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Originally Posted by RickD

Favre is an incredible QB and that's hard to admit for a Bears fan but every season the last few years he plays the will he or won't he game. Finally he bites the bullet and retires. The team moves on then he "changes" his mind.....he has that right but the team made plans when he retired, they are under no obligation to bring him back. I would however not release him but see what you can get in a trade.

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Very fair statements, but the team is SOMEWHAT culpable in this as last year he was near crucified for not making a decision sooner.

Well yeah....he played the will he or won't he game so much I can understand them wanting to know if they have to move on or not and plan for the future.

New developments:

Favre Update

Looks like in March he told the Pack he wanted to come back, they tried to meet with him, he backed out so they said they were moving on.

Now they won't release him and basically said he could come back as a back-up. This is almost funny.

Plus, I'm not sure about the "they tried to meet with him, he backed out" thing. This whole thing has turned into a "He said - He said" thing. I don't know who to believe, but knowing what I do about the business side of the game, the Packers probably really didn't want him back, and he realized it early on. His cost against the salary cap is pretty big, and they had Rogers, and they just needed a couple of pieces to get to the next level since they had a great team last year. All this adds up to me that they really didn't want him back.

Like with anything else, they've probably both done their share of messing this whole thing up. From what we DO know, though, it does seem apparent that he is a little hurt at the fact that they aren't doing everything in their power to welcome him back.

There is no way they release him...no way. Frankly, why would they? Even if he threatens to hold out...well, so what? As of a few weeks ago, he was retired, so they were already planning on not having him available. This will stretch in to training camp where, if he's smart, he'll show up and show off what he's got, realizing other teams with QB needs will be watching, and a trade will be worked out. Like I said though, I would be curious to see how the possibility of his year being played with Miami would affect his desire to return...does he want to play so badly that he's willing to play for a bad football team?

now this is just assanine Favre welcome back but as a backup to aaron "zero career starts and numerous injuries" Rodgers. If thats what Thompson told Favre know wonder he's demanding his release.

I think if he wants to be released, he should be

He has given a lot to Green bay over the years, and they should respect his wishes

He's under contract....why release him when you could get something in a trade. Why punish the new starter because Favre can't make his mind up?

Yea I guess they have a good reson, and he could be usefull if Aaron Rodgers gets hurt

I am surprised they let him play in that golf tournament

Why give him what he wants? Because there's a **** good chance he ends up in the uniform of a division rival is why. You hope he looks good in camp/preseason, and that you can get a 3rd or 4th rounder for him from a team, preferably a team in the other conference (and, yeah, nobody is going to give up more than that for a 40 year old guy whose two years prior to last season were awful, and whose fitness level you would have to be a little suspicious of).

The Packers aren't going to just anoint Brett the starter again, either, because they also want to see what kind of shape this guy is in. This is a guy who retired because he 'didn't want to do the things a football player needs to do to be ready'. If I'm one of his teammates, I'm rather pissed if the team just hands him back his gig without seeing if he's in shape.

The only person on any side of this debacle that I really feel much sympathy for IS Aaron Rodgers, who gets thrown in to the middle of a mess that he had absolutely nothing to do with.

I feel sorry for Aaron because he has yet to play in his career. however , it would be nice to earn money for doing nothing, except waiting for an old QB to do something

Article about Favre on ESPN's website tonight, an interview with Greta Von Susteren.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/s...e=NFLHeadlines

One passage I noticed...

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"Them moving on does not bother me," Favre said. "It doesn't. I totally understand that. By me retiring March 3, I knew that could possibly happen. All I was saying is, you know, I'm thinking about playing again."

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Yes, genius, when someone RETIRES, it typically means the team kind of has no choice but to move on. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Arctic Blast

Article about Favre on ESPN's website tonight, an interview with Greta Von Susteren.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/s...e=NFLHeadlines

One passage I noticed...



Yes, genius, when someone RETIRES, it typically means the team kind of has no choice but to move on. :rolleyes:

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Ha, I wouldn't bet on Favre in a match of wits but then again............the Packers are actually debating whether or not they want Rodgers as their starter over Favre!?!?! Not as if Favre had a great year or anything last year:rolleyes:

Favre vs. Packers in a match of wits.......Favre may actually win by a field goal.

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Originally Posted by dickay

Ha, I wouldn't bet on Favre in a match of wits but then again............the Packers are actually debating whether or not they want Rodgers as their starter over Favre!?!?! Not as if Favre had a great year or anything last year:rolleyes:

Favre vs. Packers in a match of wits.......Favre may actually win by a field goal.

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They have to do it that way, though. The league has to keep up the pretense that all of the offseason 'optional' minicamp **** is actually meaningful, so they can't hand a job to a guy who skipped it. And, actually, it sort of would give every veteran guy an out for all of that, which would kind of piss off all the younger guys who had to do it all.

And at some point, they have to find out if Rodgers can be the guy or not. They can't keep putting it off every year. Frankly, if I'm the Packers, unless Rodgers stinks it up in preseason, I probably roll in to week one with Favre backing up. That way, you're showing Rodgers you have some level of confidence in him, but you also have someone on the bench you can throw in if the kid isn't ready.

If you think that Brett is going to back anyone up then you are sadly mistaken. I think that everyone has severly overrated his "good guy" persona. After reading the quotes it appears that he thought he could just go home and rest and then come back and be the starter whenever he felt like it. It seems that little Brett's ego might be just a bit damaged now that the Packers said, "Nope. You'll have to prove yourself again."

Agreed Favre will not back anyone up. Especially in GB. Thats's why I said Thompson's comments about Favre being welcome back as a backup are absurd. JSO online has the entire Favre interview. I must say I lost a little respect for Favre. He's whining how the Packers wronged him in the past by not signing Randy Moss and hiring McCarthy and not Mariucchi. I think Favre is finding out that no player is bigger than the team. Not even Brett Favre.

And now it's coming out, from both the Packers AND Favre, that there was at least one previous instance of Brett calling up Mike McCarthy and telling him "I'm going to come back.", and then, a few days later, calling again "Sorry, I'm staying retired." This is just obnoxious. MAKE UP YOUR MIND once and for all BEFORE you start calling people.