Favre saga moves to its next stage

It's check-mate time for the Packers.

Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre reportedly has submitted to the NFL his request for reinstatement, according to ESPN, meaning the next move in this ongoing story will come from the Packers. Commissioner Roger Goodell has already said he planned to grant Favre's reinstatement if and when the request was made, so there is little doubt about this part of the process.

What this means is that the Packers will be forced into making a decision rather soon. They must either allow Favre to report to training camp, trade him or grant his release. Favre's preference is the latter, but it's very unlikely the Packers will be willing to part ways without any compensation and with no say-so on Favre's ultimate destination. If Green Bay does not wish to have Favre report, it will be necessary to immediately make a move.

In Lake Buena Vista, where the Bucs are in their fourth day of training camp, Tampa Bay officials continue to be reluctant to address speculation a trade to Tampa Bay is on the table. If true, this latest news makes that possibility a little more realistic.

Comments

[Craig]

I really hope Farve doesn't turn out to be traded to the Bucs. I love our team the way it is and if Farve comes then we'll have a circus distration hurting our players.

[max]

Sad to see you come back, Brett. One of the all time greats, but you've tainted your legacy. Please retire so you'll be remembered as being great, not someone who played to long and embarrassed themself by trying to play too long...

[Apollo]

Early on I was excited at the prospect of having Brett Favre in Pewter, as so many have. But now I'm pretty sure having Favre would be a bad idea. Too much distraction, too late to learn the system, too prone to interceptions, and not too excited about being a Buc. I don't believe Favre will help the Bucs take the next step above what they did last year if that is the purpose of this trade. I see it more as a downgrade to Garcia who has a better potential to get this team to the next stage with another season under this offense.

[treybucs]

The Packers refusal to bring back Favre as their starting QB will go down as one of the stupidest,most ignorant decisions of any organization in the history of football. The fact they are so "committed" to Aaron Rogers despite the fact he has achieved nothing and Favre has achieved just about everything is absolutely mindboggling to me. I would be absolutely livid if I were a Packers fan.

[BBFan10]

Message to BA and Bucs brass:

With all due respect to Favre's great career and his future first ballot HOF induction, PLEASE DO NOT trade for another 40 year old QB! We must not mortgage any part of our future, as great as Favre has been. We keep putting it off, but we still need a young, franchise QB to build this team around. Our current QB's are decent enough, but either long in the tooth or not franchise types.

[Tim in Seattle]

I'm now more concerned by the health of Joey Galloway than getting Brett Favre. Without a healthy Galloway, it won't matter if we have Favre or not. JB's the only guy who can stretch the field for this team. If he struggles with his health, it will be a long season for the offense. Galloway is the most important player on this offense. It is the upmost importance that he is 100% for the start of the season.

[bucco]

Hey Whiners! There is a reason Jeff Garcia has been on 5 teams..if Favre's available..you take him.

[DR]

There is no point in wanting a player who doesn't want to play for your team. Brett Favre wants released. Why? Because he wants to play in Minnesota, not Tampa. Favre's not worth the trouble anyways. Maybe Jake Plummer will talk him into getting traded to Tampa, who knows!?

[Kurt]

Sign Brett Favre.

[schlomo]

bucco you have a point but do you honestly feel that Favre would be a better fit then Garcia, Garcia has one year under his belt with this system and Favre is coming in here after camp has started, then has about a month to pick up the system.Griese said himself it's hard to pick up Grudens system. Now, i know that he is Favre but it still seams to me that it is taking a step back this season, maybe next season will be different, but will Favre pull a " i want to retire" move on us. Plus can we question his desire in being here. Garcia loves being here and wants to settle down, I for one wouldn't want a QB who has only half a heart.

[Rich]

Brad Johson, Brian Griese, Bruce Gradkowski, Chris Sims, Jeff Garcia, and now maybe Brett Favre. This could not be good for the team.What is good for the team is consistency at the QB position, and i dont care what any one says five QB's in as many years in not a winning recipe, especially with Grudens complicated system.

[Tuol Ting]

The Bucs are bunch of suckas if they don't bring in Favre. Have you seen Garcia's declining arm at training camp folks? Quack, quack, quack....

[Brandon]

If we do get Favre I only pray that the IDIOTS that are on here finally learn to spell the guy's name... you know who you morons are!

[BBFan10]

I only saw "Favre" mispelled once on here and while we are on the subject, his name has been mispronounced from day one. There is no way "Favre" could ever be pronounced "Farve", except maybe in Mississippi. I'll say it again, we need a young, stud, franchise QB to build around. Look at the last 5 super bowl champs, basically Brady, Manning and Manning. That is what we need. Favre 8 years ago, yea, but certainly not now.

[Wardawg]

It's not so much about who's a better QB (we all know Farve is one of the best all time), but who's best for the Bucs. The players know, trust and believe in Garcia. Why bring in a distraction like that. Favre says Tampa is too hot or whatever, why would we want somebody that doesn't even want to be here.

[Vince]

The secret weapon you seek is already on the roster, and his name is QB JOSH JOHNSON! This guy is fast as vince young, cannon arm, and was 724/1075 passing completions per attempt, which is a staggering 68% completetion! 30-4 as a starter in college, this guy is the Bucs future! I heard him in an interview and he sounded really sharp, which is the missing ingredient in all QB's, the brains to put it all together!

[vince]

And while we're on the subject, Zuttah is going to be a perennial pro-bowler!

[Kurt]

Vince, you have to gage your excitement as Josh Johnson didn't even play division 1 football. It's like he played at HCC and had all those accolades. He might as well have been at Plant High School, although the competition is probably a little higher in Tampa high school football than where he went to school. He's a nice prospect though and I think Zuttah will start in the near future (maybe for Penn or switch Trueblood to LT and let him play there.)

[bucNcrazy]

I was all for Favre at first but not now that I know he doesn't have any interest playing for Tampa and after hearing Garcia and how much he wants to be here. I say stick with Garcia.

LOL! Josh Johnson. lol He won't even be on the roster in a couple years. I heard he looks absolutely awful and has a hard time throwing an NFL regulation football. Wasted draft pick if you ask me. He is like a Gradkowski clone, dumb as a stump, not accurate and has great stats from a small school who can run fast.

[richardmac]

Tampa HS football compares to the colleges Josh played against, Kurt? The rest of your post makes sense, but that's the dumbest thing I've read this week.

[Sean]

Am I the only one that keeps this almost-hatred against rival teams? We are trading for favre? Why not get Ricky Prohel? Or how about Kurt Warner? Brett Favre is a Packer, and not too long ago, the packers were our biggest rivals. I don't want to see the face of the packers, the packers poster boy, put on our jersey. My Rule of thumb: Anyone who, after winning a superbowl with our team, would not *retire* as a Buc, I do not want to see come to our team.

[Jeffro]

The question is who can win more games this year? 'cos Garcia & Farve are both stop gap solutions & neither will be around in '09. I say stick with Garcia, Farve throws too many INT's & will take half the season to learn the playbook...

[Joe]

I think anyone who suggests that Favre is tainting his legacy is foolish. Green Bay seems to have pushed Favre into making a decision to retire and now that he has decided to keep playing, he's suddenly the bad guy? Why on earth would ANY team want to sit Favre on the sidelines, let alone pay $12m for a 2nd stringer? Favre deserves to go out on his terms, and if that is as a Buc, a Viking or a Jet, so be it...

[Vince]

Wassup with that take Kurt? Closet RACIST?

you my BIATCH now!

why you doggin' the young brutha?

[Kurt]

Vince, to call me a racist because I don't think Josh Johnson played at a high level in college is just plain hate blogging. Get over you ignorant self and try to have some class. I stated that I thought Josh was a good prospect, but that he played in the bush league. I was being sarcastic about the high school level, but I don't think he played in a good league at all and most people will agree. Go back to school and learn how to spell and write with the literate as there are no gangstas here!

[Skylar]

Vince...ebonics is a terrible thing!

[Bo]

Vince, there was no need for that. Most of us are trying to get past racism these days despite the NAACP. It seems somewhat Freudian for you to bring such nonsense up and in fact makes you look like the racist one. I didn't read the first racist statement on this entire blog. Whassup brutha? Yo, you better aks someone!!!

[DR]

If Kurt was a racist, he wouldn't be on a football blog. He'd be on the Hockey or NASCAR blog. Or the golf blog saying how happy he was Tiger is out for the season.

[SC]

The Carpenter has called it...Favre ain't comin' to Tampa Bay. Its either to the AFC or nothing. The Pack don't want to face Favre on 9/28 or in the playoffs, if it gets that far.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/The-Stacy-Cole-Show Come listen Monday-Friday 8:30-9:30 PM www.stacycoleshow.com

[Rich]

what are packers scared of, if they are so confident in Aaron Rodgers it shouldn't matter to them who Brett Favre plays for. I think they are really showing a lack of confidence in there team and their QB. They are that scared of him. Ha!. Hey packers man up, get what you can for him and show that you are not scared of him. Unless you are, then that would be a different story, which would explain why you don't want him playing any more and are willing to pay him 20 mil to stay home. What punks.

[Steve L]

Rich, they’re not “scared” of anything; they just want a return on their investment. Favre is under contract to the Packer’s. He obviously has some value which they’d like to recoup in a trade situation. This is the only reason they’ve not released him. I’m sure they know that Rodgers is a wild card at this point, but Favre in his selfishness forced their hand time and again (first in forcing them to draft a QB after “hinting” at retirement- then this whole fiasco). There are a lot of power plays in the NFL. The Pack is schooling Favre on that at the moment.

As a football fan I'm happy about the fact that the season is around the corner. The Bucs ownership group will decide how far they are willing to go in order to acquire Mr. Favre. As far as a comeback affecting his legacy...I think even the thought is a joke. Who are we to tell another man when to stop working or doing the things he has a passion for. He should be in uniform as long as he wants to play and as long as someone is willing to pay him to do so. Bottom line. Those who disagree are at liberty of switching the channel when Favre highlights or lowlights are illustrated.