Why Can't the Packers Just Say No to Brett Favre?

I am a diehard Green Bay Packers fan who has only known one quarterback in his life—Brett Favre.

When Favre announced his retirement in March, I was less surprised than most. I figured that Favre would have liked to go out giving absolutely everything he had, and let's face it, last year was his last best chance at winning a Super Bowl.

Interception on his last throw or not, I figured he might retire and I had completely accepted (and somewhat looked forward to) what life would be like without Favre as my team's quarterback.

Throughout the past couple of weeks where rumors surfaced that Favre wanted to come back and play in 2008, I had kept my mouth shut because I wasn't quite sure how to feel.

Sure, Favre had a great season in 2007 and showed that he could still play at his age. But as the Packers' front office brass had continuously said, the Packers had moved on and Aaron Rodgers was their quarterback. And I felt the same way.

Of course, if the Packers had welcomed Favre back with open arms I wouldn't have been disappointed. But the fact of the matter was that the Packers were ready to move on.

As much of a hero Favre was to Green Bay and as much as he has done for the organization, the constant retirement speculation had grown tiresome and when he finally announced he was retiring, I'm sure the organization let out a collective sigh of relief.

The ordeal was over and as much as they were going to miss having Favre around, they could finally move on.

Then, a few weeks ago rumors started surfacing that Favre wanted to come back. I'm sure that Packers' General Manager Ted Thompson's feelings were much similar to mine—here we go again.

I, as a fan, had put all my emotions for Favre as a player aside and accepted his retirement. The Packers, by all accounts, had done the same thing. On an emotional level and on a player personnel level.

It's unlikely that Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn would have been drafted if Favre was still on the roster. They would have used those picks to fill more immediate needs such as the secondary or the defensive line.

So while the rest of the world remains shocked that the Packers would say no to the most legendary player in the organization's rich history, I'm not. And while the talking heads on ESPN ponder the difficult predicament the organization is in with Favre asking for his release, the question is a lot more simple then they're making it out to be.

The Packers basically told Favre no about coming back, so why not just say no to releasing him?

Pundits say the organization can't do such a thing. Favre has given the team so much over the years that he deserves for the team to do what he demands so that he can continue playing for another team. But that's not the case.

When Barry Sanders retired from the NFL, it was because he no longer wanted to play for the Detroit Lions and the Lions, reasonably so, refused to trade or release him. Thus, he stayed retired. So why can't the Packers do the same thing with Favre?

True, it would make for some pretty horrible publicity for Thompson to decide to pretty much force Favre to stay retired. But not nearly as bad as it would look for the Packers to allow Favre to play for the Bears or the Vikings next year and lead them to the playoffs or beyond.

Morally, the right thing for the Packers to do would be to release Favre and allow him to do what he wants with the remainder of his career. But the Packers are in the league to win football games, and from an organizational standpoint, the smartest move would be to not allow Favre to play for them or for anyone else.

The Packers aren't being forced to do anything. Pressured, yes. But forced? As much as people say that Favre holds the upper hand and is holding the Packers hostage, that isn't the case anymore. The Packers hold his rights for two more years and can do what they want, just as the Lions did with Sanders.

Will fans be furious? Yes, for the time being. But they'll get over it and move on, just as Favre will. People forget that the Packers have one of the brightest, most talented upcoming teams for the 2008 season and nothing erases bad publicity like success.

So the Packers should move on, succeed with Aaron Rodgers, and try their best to put this ugly mess behind them.