What’s Brett Favre going to do? Place your bets!

Posted By Matt Severance on Monday, July 14th 2008 under: NFL

The Brett Favre saga continues, with the latest media reports saying the pseudo-retired quarterback has formally asked the Packers for his unconditional release, via letter from his agent, after feeling rebuffed in his attempts to return with Green Bay.

Would the Packers really waive or possibly trade their franchise icon, the NFL record-holder in most major career passing categories and the league’s only-three time MVP? That seems unfathomable, but Packers officials pretty clearly want to move past the Favre era and let Aaron Rodgers finally have his chance as an NFL starting quarterback.

On Saturday, GM Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy said as much, telling The Associated Press that Favre was welcome to rejoin the team but would have to be a backup, and that the club has no plans to honor his request to be released.

Sportsbooks have even jumped on the bandwagon, with odds on the future Hall of Famer’s return (these from Bodog):

Stay retired - 10/13

Rejoins Packers before start of season - 21/20

Rejoins Packers after the start of the season - 4/1

Plays for another NFL team from Game 1 - 6/1

Plays for another NFL team after start of season - 14/1

While the “stay retired” bet seems like a wasted one, considering Favre’s obvious inclination to play again - he has been working out with players from a Mississippi high school team for a month - it’s the “plays for another NFL team from Game 1” odds that might be the best play. The question is, will Green Bay trade him?

Favre reportedly may want to play for the Minnesota Vikings, who have a Super Bowl ready defense, a star running back in Adrian Peterson and an offensive coordinator in Darrell Revell with whom Favre is familiar – Revell was the quarterbacks coach in Green Bay from 2003-05. One would think the other two NFC North teams, the Bears and Lions, also would be first in line trying to get Favre’s services.

But there is no way the Packers would allow Favre to go to a division opponent, leaving Tampa Bay and Baltimore as the most likely destinations. They are both playoff-caliber teams with some quarterback questions: Jeff Garcia is unlikely to stay healthy a full season in Tampa, and Favre would be a massive upgrade over either Troy Smith or Kyle Boller as the starter in Baltimore.

So now the Favre saga gets really interesting. Does Thompson hold his ground and anger a vocal fan base by trading a legend? Would Favre call his bluff on being a backup? Or does the GM bring No. 4 back as a starter for one last Super Bowl run?

Stay tuned.