ESPN.com’s Gene Wojciechowski writes that the “bottom line” of the current standoff leads to this conclusion. “If NFC North rival Minnesota offers the most comprehensive package, you trade him to Minnesota. If Chicago comes up with the best deal, then off to the Bears he goes. That way you get Favre’s name off the roster and draft picks in your pocket. It’s a win-win.”
He’s right, of course. And, despite Thompson’s unwillingness to do so, dealing Favre to the Vikings (or the Bears) increasingly looks like the only solution that could end this standoff in the relatively near-term future. Should the Vikings offer, say, a first round pick and some change (late round pick) and the Bucs offer a conditional fourth-rounder, Thompson would be crazy not to take the Vikings’ offer just because he’s afraid of playing Favre twice in a year. The Packers play the Bucs in late September. Is that second game worth the difference between a first and a fourth round pick? Of course not.
Wojo also smacks the Packers around for inconsistencies of their own. Although he’s more inclined to believe Brett Favre than I am, it’s a useful review of how the Packers, too, have screwed this whole thing up.
Their claim that Favre could come back to Green Bay as a backup was preposterous from the beginning and has only added to these problems.
packergeeks 
July 28, 2008 at 2:49 pm |
You do not trade your Hall of Fame QB to your intra division rival no matter what they offer.
July 28, 2008 at 2:54 pm |
Sorry, MacG, not with you. If the Vikings offered their first-round picks over the next four years for our Hall of Fame quarterback who is still very good but turns 39 in October, you’d turn that down? If Thompson turned down an offer like that because he was afraid to face Favre four times in the next couple of years, he would deserve to be fired.
Of course you have to consider trades to intra-division rivals. We can disagree about what it might take make the trade worth it — would you turn down a straight-up trade for Adrian Peterson? me neither — but you can’t simply turn them down because they’re in the division.
Give me a first and third rounder — and an end to this nightmare — and Favre would be wearing purple tomorrow.
July 28, 2008 at 3:03 pm |
Get additional 2010 picks for tampering the 1 and 4 for 2009. That might be enough to make up for the insanity caused by Favre, Cook, Bevell and Childtess.
July 28, 2008 at 3:32 pm |
I guess I still don’t understand is why people think the Packers should just give in to Favre. Yes, it might fix the short term problem but it seems to me that it just opens up a number of problems in the future. If you give into Favre just to make an uncomfortable situation go away then why incentive do players have to not do the same thing? Ryan Grant isn’t happy right now and if you release Favre or just trade him to the Vikings what is to stop Grant from complaining and making enough of a stink while demanding a trade to a team of his choice or an outright release? Or really any other player?
And if you trade him to the Vikings and they did tamper, which seems likely to me, do you really want to essentially reward the people who created this mess?
July 28, 2008 at 3:45 pm |
It depends what you think constitutes “giving in” to Favre and what your sense is of the alternatives. If you believe, as I do, that getting a first round and third rounder for Favre at this point — given his age and the circumstances — then the Packers are not exactly “giving in.” That said, if the Packers had better alternatives, I’d be happy for them to pick one. I don’t see that they do. He’s not coming back. He’s not getting released. He doesn’t appear willing to accept a trade to the Jets or the Buccaneers. So we’re left with basically two choices: wait or move now. Waiting has some appeal because it’s inevitable that someone will get hurt. But how much does that hurt the team in the meantime? And what if the big quarterback injuries come to JaMarcus Russell and Brodie Croyle? Would Favre be willing to go to either team?
I’m not terribly worried about precedent here. This is a situation unlike any other, as many have remarked over the course of events. If the Packers trade with the Vikings, I think many would see it as a prima donna putting the Packers in a situation in which they had few other options. And they’d be right.
As I say, though, if there’s a better option I haven’t heard it.
July 28, 2008 at 3:47 pm |
To hell with a first-rounder. Ship over DT Kevin Williams in a player-for-player trade and we’ll call this even.
July 28, 2008 at 4:38 pm |
MC has the answer.
July 28, 2008 at 4:43 pm |
The Packers (TT in particular) are attempting to take advantage of a unique trading opportunity here. All the Packers are trying to do is deepen the talent pool of the team-period. By whatever means. Favre presents an opportunity to obtain some high draft picks–something that TT loves to do. For Ted, it’s all about building for the future.
Let’s face it folks, Favre burned the bridge to the Packers. You don’t dis your boss and your bosses boss and expect everything to be OK. No way. Favre on the Packers won’t ever happen. That would be an organizational train wreck.
I agree with Steve, trading to the Vikings is not a bad idea, long term, I feel the Packers are still ahead of the game.
July 28, 2008 at 4:51 pm |
First, making the argument of the Vikes offering their first round pick over the next four years for Favre will obviously win you the argument, but it’s so absurd that it loses the argument. Try again. Even the prospect of getting a first round pick is highly unlikely, much less a first and a third.
Second, you are presuming that Favre wants to go to the Vikings. Why? Because he spoke to Bevell and Childress? So what. He talked to Matt Millen, too, do you think he wants to play for the Lions? Because some sports media guy said so? Please. Even the best sports writers have made some pretty crazy assumptions in their frenzy to find new ways to spin this situation out of control, and that was one of them. Favre doesn’t want to play for the Vikings, and he knows full well that the Bears, Vikings, and yes, even the Lions, are 100% out of the question.
Favre also doesn’t want to play for the Bucs and certainly not the Jets. He wants to play for the Green Bay Packers. His request for a full release and his “willingness” to consider being traded are his negotiating tools. Am I the only one who sees this? Favre stated that Thompson asked him whether he was interested in a trade, and his response was “Yeah, but not just to the teams you want me to go to.” Well, what does that leave? The teams Thompson won’t consider plus the teams Favre would consider: X + Y = Zero. The only option is for Favre to be a Packer. And if I’m not mistaken, once Favre is on the roster, it’s Mike McCarthy’s call, not Ted Thompson’s. Right now, McCarthy has absolutely no choice but to hold the line and say that Aaron Rodgers is the #1 QB. Just like Jon Gruden, Childress, and the Jets coach have all been absolute in standing by their current QB’s throughout this whole storm. Coaches don’t speculate and diss the QB’s on the roster. At least the good coaches don’t. However, I do believe McCarthy said today after the first practice, that there would be no problem with Favre returning to the locker room, he’s been a great part of the Packers past and perhaps their future….
The Pack filed tampering charges because they think his discussions with them led Favre to want to come out of retirement, not because Favre wants to play for the Vikings. Please. Favre knows the Packers aren’t going to let him go to the Vikings. He was asking for their opinion on whether he should return to the Packers,
July 28, 2008 at 8:01 pm |
Ummmm, Kristin, the suggestion that the Vikings would give the Packers their first round pick for the next for years was a deliberate exaggeration, meant to make a point. Others have said that the Packers should never consider a trade with an intra-division rival. I disagree and I don’t believe that many people believe that the Packers should never consider such a trade. So I floated one that no reasonable person would reject. It was exaggerated. Your post is intelligent — but in my view wrong — so I’m guessing you already knew that.
Second, you write: “Favre doesn’t want to play for the Vikings.” Sorry. All of your persuasive power is not enough to get me to simply set aside indications that he does, in fact, want to play for the Vikings. In addition to the communications with Bevell and Childress — Favre acknowledges they happened “often” — there were independent reports from reputable journalists on Bus Cook’s outreach to the Vikings. And then there are the numerous reports from top NFL reporters — Jay Glazer, Chris Mortensen, Peter King and others — that simply assert that Favre wants to play for the Vikings, in the case of two of them — Mortensen and King — in articles that ran immediately after they met with Favre.
July 28, 2008 at 8:57 pm |
Donald Driver on Favre going to the Vikings – (via 1250 Sports in Milwaukee)
Paraphrased
” I told Brett the same thing I told Sharper you can’t play for a team with uniforms that ugly. Seriously, I don’t care about any of this I care about the Packer organization.”
Sounds like the team is getting sick of the sideshow up in Green
Bay. A quality player for Favre would satisfy me and I don’t really care where he goes anymore. Just so he shuts his bipolar yap. Football is a team game and right now his actions are beginning to impact the team.
For those of you who remember the “Glory Years”, Ted Thompson is a pansy compared to Lombardi. Just ask Jim Ringo, his All-Pro center. This crap from Favre would have stopped the first time he started sticking his nose into decisions that are reserved for management. Lombardi had plenty of “individuals” to deal with. Hornung, Mc Gee, Taylor, Gregg, Kremmer, etc. Not one of them would have publicly questioned him, ever. They were a team not a collection of individuals.
Sherman allowed this behavior, in fact, he rewarded it. It got him a 4 and 12 final season. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of having Favre in purple for the Monday night game. Maybe then he will understand what a jerk he turned into. Only if we receive adequate compensation, of course.
July 28, 2008 at 9:34 pm |
Hi sfhayes, I know you were exaggerating with the four first-rounders. So sure, never say never, I get the point. But the fact is, the Packers can’t consider a trade from a business or a competitive standpoint. We all know that for it to be worthwhile for the Pack they would have to get something insanely good from the Vikings. Even MN isn’t stupid enough to trade away a #1 pick or even a #2 pick for a 38 year old. (Er, well, I guess never say never… perhaps we should give them a 15 minute deadline to put together an offer and they’ll mistakenly offer us those 4 first round picks…)
If Glazer, Mort, and King are so sure that Brett wants to play with the Vikings, they must have a clue that Brett had serious discussions with the Vikes about such a scenario. Why would Favre even be leaning towards playing for a team he knows the Pack wouldn’t allow him to play for unless he really felt they wanted him and would make him their starter? Hmmmmmm. If that were the case, I guess the tampering charge has merit. I guess Goodell’s office better interview Mort and King as part of the tampering investigation. Obviously they have some inside information. My view: Glazer, Mortenson and King are blowing Favre’s Viking desire way out of proportion.
July 28, 2008 at 9:49 pm |
The best reason the Vikings would give a number one for Farve – Tavaris Jackson.
July 29, 2008 at 12:48 am |
Kristin – I really want to believe that, then I remember that Bus Cook was speaking to the Vikings back in April…
July 29, 2008 at 2:46 am |
Ok. If Bus was talking to the Vikes in April…. slam dunk (sorry for mixing sport metaphors.) I guess we’ll be getting penalty draft picks from the Vikes regardless. If Brett’s AGENT is talking to opposing teams, without permission, I don’t think it takes a lot of investigation to prove tampering. Can I get some kind of legit documentation on the Bus chatting with Vikes in April story? Did I miss something? I’ll retract everything I’ve said here if that is true.
I bet there is one thing we’ll all agree on…
Bus Cook is the devil.
Why aren’t the sports writers demonizing him like they should be?
They rarely even mention his name, even though he may very well be the power-drunk driver behind this entire fiasco.
July 29, 2008 at 10:20 am |
It’s not just about *two* head to head games. The Packers and Vikings are in the same division. They compete for the championship based on which team wins more games. Every single game that the Vikings win hurts the Packers playoff chances to some degree. If the Vikings sweep the Bears with Favre but would have split with the Bears without Favre, **that hurts the Packers**. If Favre helps the Vikings win an extra two or three games that they would not have won with Jackson, that it going to hurt a lot.
That is not to say that the Packers should never trade Favre to the Vikings (obviously 4 first round picks is a no-brainer), but that it will require significantly more compensation from the Vikings than from the Bucs, just as it should require more compensation from the Bucs than from an AFC team. In that case it’s not just about the head to head games. It’s about the wild card spot.
July 29, 2008 at 12:41 pm |
Emotionally, I can never come to grips with Favre in a Viqueens jersey.