Favre: Who's the Boss?

The summer drama that has been Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers took another turn Sunday when it was reported the legendary quarterback is returning to the team Monday and likely will participate in practice as soon as Tuesday.

What forced the Packers to have a change in heart to welcome Favre back?

The possibility of having their most popular player in another uniform might have finally been too much for the Packers braintrust to stomach. Perhaps Favre told them he would play more than one season (more on this in a bit), thus ending the annual offseason game of cat and mouse.

What role did their inability to trade him play in this?

There is a saying that sometimes the best moves are the ones you don't make. Trading Favre to another NFC team such as the Bucs would have been bad, to an intra-division rival such as the Bears or Vikings disastrous, and in the Badger State, unforgivable. There is no question the Packers wanted to trade Favre at some point, however their reported demands also made it clear they preferred he just stayed retired.

What role did Favre play in this, meaning did he state unwaveringly that he wants to play football?

My guess, and it's only that, is he agreed to play more than one season if the Packers took him back. He clearly wants to play football, and he clearly wants to win another Super Bowl. He's never wavered from that latter statement. Favre forced the Packers' hand by saying he'd only accept a trade to Minnesota, which would be completely unacceptable to GM Ted Thompson, demoralizing to the Packers players and the end of the world for a vast majority of Packers fans.

What does this mean for Aaron Rodgers?

Probably the end of his Packers career. There is no question in my mind that Favre will beat him out for the starting job. No matter how it's couched, Rodgers can't be happy, and he will walk when his rookie contract expires after the 2009 season. Barring a Favre injury, I doubt Rodgers will play much more this season than in years past.

And what about the Packers chances this season?

On some level, the Packers management team must believe they're very close to winning a Super Bowl, and I don't think anyone believes Rodgers will give them a better chance this season than Favre. Assuming Favre is fit and healthy, he still has more than a month to prepare for the regular season. The Packers' signing of Ryan Grant over the weekend helps, and reports on the team's scrimmage Sunday night said the secondary looks vastly improved. So the Packers will be one of the NFC's better teams, but I don't know if they can overcome Dallas or New York, both of which I anticipate being better this season.

What about the future?

If Favre plays this season, the Packers probably will look to prepare second-round draft choice Brian Brohm and/or seventh-round pick Matt Flynn to take over for Favre. If Favre has committed to two more seasons, and I suspect he has, then it would not surprise me to see the Packers trade Rodgers at the draft next spring.

But, like everyone else, I'm getting ahead of myself. Four and a half more weeks until the season starts.