Brett Favre will no doubt pay a visit to Green Bay at some point to be honored. Just exactly when that will be is uncertain at this point.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

The more he talks about it, the more likely it seems that Mark Murphy wants Brett Favre back into the Green Bay Packers family – it’s a topic that just doesn’t want to go away and won’t go away until it’s done.

In February, just a day after reports that Favre had communicated with former Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings while Jennings was in Minnesota negotiating a free agency deal to lure him away from the Packers, Murphy came out publicly with the Favre love message – saying the Packers would welcome him back into the fold with open arms.

Packers President Mark Murphy came out again Tuesday saying the Packers want Brett Favre back in the “family.”
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Murphy continued that message Tuesday during the Packers opening stop along the Tailgate Tour that is winding its way through southern Wisconsin and into Iowa this week.

According to published reports, here’s what Murphy had to say Tuesday while reiterating what he already said back in February:

“We want to have [Favre] back in the family.”

That’s not huge news to any Packers fan who has been following the situation, but it’s a statement that has raised the ire of many who can’t get over the divorce between Favre and the Packers that occurred five years ago. Though there are many who felt the Packers cut ties with Favre well before his tank was empty, more still became Favre-haters when he retired once, got traded to the New York Jets, retired again, and then decided to go play for the hated Minnesota Vikings. The fuel for more distaste of the “Ol’ Gunslinger” was thrown onto the fire even more heavily during the 2009 season when the Vikings defeated the Packers and Favre’s replacement, Aaron Rodgers, twice and Favre nearly led the Vikings to the Super Bowl. Only a Favre interception on the final Vikings play of the NFC Championship Game that season prevented that from occurring.

There was sweet justice the following season, however, when Rodgers and the Packers turned the tables, defeated Favre and the Vikings twice, and then went on to win Super Bowl XLV.

So, time does tend to heal. This past February, Favre and Rodgers appeared together on stage at the NFL Awards ceremony and there were many who saw that as the start of a healing process.

Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers were competitors and teammates for several seasons.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Now the talk of a day to honor Favre at Lambeau Field heats up – with some saying it could happen as early as this season or in 2014. Favre is scheduled to be eligible for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the next couple of years and will most likely be inducted formally into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame at some point in the near future as well.

So, let the talk continue, but let’s hope it doesn’t go on for too long. In my mind, it is time. The Packers and Favre have to hug, kiss and make up.

A classic Brett Favre shot, this photograph was shot back in 2003.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

In the interest of equal time, I’ve got to give Brett Favre a break today – this morning I posted a piece with a picture that made fun of what he looked like on that draft day way back when the Atlanta Falcons selected him.

So, this is serious: Brett Favre – it’s time to come home.

Brett Favre, 2008
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

We were all amused back in early February when he appeared live onstage with Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers at the NFL Awards program on the eve of the Super Bowl. What wasn’t so funny was all the hate against Favre that spewed after that appearance. Yes, there was plenty of love, but I was appalled by the venom thrown his way after the appearance.

It’s got to stop and people have to get over themselves.

Yes, it’s time to put away your pitchforks and torches and realize that It. Is. Time.

First of all, do people really forget what he did for the franchise during his 16 years with the Green Bay Packers? He took the team to two consecutive Super Bowls, he won three consecutive Most Valuable Player awards, his presence was what helped convince the likes of Reggie White to sign with the Packers, he broke every team and league passing record out there (yes, including interceptions), and he changed the face of the franchise that lasts to this very day.

Why the hate? Because he decided to quit, then decided to come back and thought the Packers owed it to him to take him back? Well, being a diva, in my estimation, is far from warranting hate. Yes, he went on to the Jets, got hurt, retired, and then decided to come back and play for the Vikings.

So what? Yes, he beat the Packers in two games in 2009 and nearly led the Vikings to the Super Bowl that season (where they probably would have won). We all know how that ended.

But don’t you remember what happened the next year? Favre lost in his last day at Lambeau, got crushed by the Packers in Minnesota and then the Packers did the ultimate – they went on to win the Super Bowl with their newest hero Aaron Rodgers.

Favre ended his career on the injury list and with his consecutive game streak broken.

He slinked into retirement and has stayed there while Aaron Rodgers is about to become the highest paid player in league history. So, OK, he did have the recent fiasco with calling Greg Jennings to help convince him to sign with the Vikings … hey, maybe he was doing the Packers a favor in this case. The Packers are loaded with receivers and they really don’t need an injury-prone multi-millionaire on their roster. Not only that, but think of the millions the Packers saved to use toward the contracts of Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews. Money better well spent.

Brett Favre watches a replay of an interception he threw to the Bears’ Brian Urlacher in 2007.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

So, with all things seemingly equal, it’s time to kiss and make up. Even Packers President Mark Murphy thinks so. It’s time to put bygones aside and move on.

It’s time to start planning for the day when Brett Favre will be welcomed back to Lambeau Field with hearty cheers. It’s time to retire #4 and raise his name onto the ring of honor. It’s time to remember the best of Brett Favre and welcome him back into the Packers family where he belongs.

And I’m not the only one saying this. Check out Mike Vandermause’s and Mike Silver’s columns …

While nobody expects the Packers to open their arms and invite Favre back tomorrow – I would suspect that within the next couple of years the inevitable will take place.

Yes, there’s still plenty of discord out there among Packers fans and probably within the Packers organization, but now’s the time to start thinking and planning for that day. Favre will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in a couple of years and we all know he will be a first ballot shoe-in.

For one, I want Favre to go into that Hall of Fame as a Packer. Don’t you?

So, let’s get over it, Packers fans. It’s time to move on and time to accept.

Packers President Mark Murphy wants to see the day when Brett Favre is honored.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Green Bay Packers Team President Mark Murphy told reporters today while being interviewed at the National Football League meetings being held in Phoenix, Ariz., that he thought the franchise was moving closer to the day when they would honor Brett Favre.

According to a report on the Green Bay Press Gazette, Murphy said that no date has yet been set and it might not even occur this year, but he feels that the time is fast approaching when the team, Favre and the team’s fans will come together for a lovefest at Lambeau Field.

He even admitted that the first step was when Favre and Aaron Rodgers appeared together on stage during the NFL awards to present the comeback player of the year honor.

“I thought that was great,” Murphy was quoted as saying today. “It was kind of a good first step, and our intent all along is we want to bring him back into the family and retire his number. He deserves it.”

The majority of fans are looking forward to that day as well. Ok, full disclosure here – I love Brett Favre, but never liked what he did his last three years in the league. I’ve tended to try to wipe those years from my memory.

Many Packers fans aren’t able to do that and there are still plenty of haters out there.

Clearly, Murphy hadn’t heard that Greg Jennings bragged today about being helped to a decision to join the Minnesota Vikings through personal phone calls from Favre himself. To me, that’s rubbing it in a bit – twisting the knife.

Still, we have to get beyond that silly move by Favre. It is what it is.

Like Murphy, we need to honor Favre for what he did for the franchise while he was a Packer, not for what he’s done since.

“It’s got to be sitting down, the organization, whether it’s myself or others, sitting down with him and working on the timing of it,” Murphy said.

Let’s hope it’s soon.

Brett Favre was on the phone with Greg Jennings to help him make the decision to sign with the Minnesota Vikings.
Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Green Bay Packers fans had gotten over the fact that Greg Jennings has signed with the Minnesota Vikings, but the former Packers wide receiver twisted the knife even more today by raising the name of “He Who Shall Not be Named.”

For many, the gloves are now off.

Yes, it was reported today on nfl.com, among other places today, that Vikings officials had Brett Favre on the phone with Jennings upon landing in Minnesota for his visit prior to his signing with the team.

“Literally, as I got off the plane and (offensive coordinator Bill) Musgrave walked up to me, I’m on the phone with Brett,” Jennings said on KFAN-AM, via Min.Scout.com.

And if that’s not enough to tick off those who disliked Favre for his move to Minnesota in 2009, Jennings said it wasn’t just one phone call from the former Packers quarterback that he received. ”I spoke with Brett two or three times throughout this process. He shot me straight. I knew if there was one person that would shoot straight and tell me exactly what I wanted to hear and things I possibly didn’t want to hear, it would be Brett. He did that for me.”

Yes, we’re sure Favre shot him straight alright.

Packers fans who already have a grudge against Favre will no doubt add this nugget of information to their arsenal.

We wonder if Favre had anything good to say about Green Bay. After all the love he and Aaron Rodgers appeared to share on the stage of the NFL awards program last month, it’s become pretty clear that it was all for show.

We also wonder how Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy are feeling after hearing this news … disappointed, at the least. Probably pretty ticked off.

Leave it to the Vikings to pull every possible trick out of their bag to get Jennings to sign with them.

I guess you can say they were successful … for now.

There will be a day when Brett Favre is honored once again in Green Bay.

This past week, Aaron Rodgers was recognized as the best player in the NFL by his peers who voted him to that spot in NFL Network’s Top 100 Players of 2012.

That was the biggest news emanating from the NFL.

But there was other news as well, most notably that coming from the interview a former Packers quarterback gave to NFL Network’s Deion Sanders where for the first time He Who Shall Not Be Named gave his most extensive praise for the man who succeeded him behind center in Green Bay.

Favre has had few words for the best player in the NFL – its MVP and its 2010 Super Bowl champion and MVP.

That is until now.

And that’s why many feel Brett Favre is finally softening his views about the franchise where he spent the best 16 years of his life.

In a story today on JSonline, Michael Hunt argues that Favre is indeed ready to extend the olive branch and that it’s about time. In reaction to that story, Profootballtalk.com’s Michael David Smith argues the same thing – that it’s time for Favre to come clean and for all Packers fans to forgive the player Ron Wolf calls the Packers’ all-time best.

Aaron Rodgers is our current hero. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

I can’t disagree with any of the arguments. Yes, there are those out there who still carry a grudge. In my mind, all I can remember are the tons of memories and highlights the guy brought to an entire generation of football and Packers fans. He was football. He was the Green Bay Packers. And because of that, there will be a day in the next two years when Favre will make a triumphant return to have his number retired.

Whether he man-hugs Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy isn’t important. What he needs to do is allow all Packers fans to remember those warm fuzzies they felt so many times – as well as the anger they felt when he threw all those interceptions – including the one he threw as his last pass with the team. We were disappointed, yes, but we can’t let that one memory overtake all those good times.Part of the healing process is learning to understand and deal with the range of emotions.

Yes, the good news this week surrounded our current hero – Aaron Rodgers – as it should. However, percolating in the background was this story that will someday dominate our headlines.

Frankly, I can’t wait for that day. It will serve to bring us all back together, linking two generations of fans and players – as well as an entire franchise – in all that’s good.

To highlight and bring all this together, I’ve included below a comment that was left on the profootballtalk.com website. What this individual says is not only true, but emphasizes several points that make this topic so relevant.

Please read what this reader thinks. If you disagree, fine. But I feel there will be few who do …

boothlustig says:Jun 30, 2012 3:56 PM

He who must not be named is the focus of a special ESPN2 program Sunday night at 9 p.m.

As if we haven’t heard enough about “the one who must not be named,” the ESPN program Outside the Lines will take a look at former Packers/Jets/Vikings quarter Bert … ahem … Brett Favre.

The piece, as reported by Kelly Naqi, will air Sunday at 9 a.m. on ESPN2.

Below are some quotes released by the network, as well as a short video clip as a teaser from the program:

In October, Favre gave a radio interview during which he said he was “surprised” that his successor, Aaron Rodgers, didn’t win a Super Bowl sooner.

“In Brett’s mind, what he’s saying in that interview is ‘Aaron did a great job, he’s a great quarterback, but I’m better than him and I will always be better than him,’ ” Chmura said. ”That’s just Brett’s personality.”

Frank Winters, Favre’s former teammate, said Favre is at peace with what he gave the Packers’ organization and its fans.
“His thing is like ‘Hey, if they don’t like me, they don’t like me,’ ” Winters said. “What matters to him is that he knows when he was up there, he gave his all to the Packers, and the community, and the organization. And I think deep down inside that’s what he feels comfortable with.”

Enjoy this video and the program, if you dare watch.
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Gregg Rosenthal of Pro Football Talk provided the blog below that hopefully puts an exclamation point on any possibility that Brett Favre will return this season to the NFL.

With Favre’s statement saying he’s enjoying his time with his family, I think we can finally rest easy.

Though we love Brett, we can all find the highest point and scream “Hallelujah!”

See Rosenthal’s post below:

Favre releases statement that he has “no plans” to play football

While sources “close to Brett Favre” said this week that Favre would have listened to an offer from the Chicago Bears, an offer never came.

So now a “source that is Brett Favre” has decided to release a statement.

“Inspite [sic] of reports about playing with various teams, I’m enjoying retirement with my family and have no plans to play football,” Favre said in a statement on Tuesday night.

We could parse those words to point out how he leaves the door open a crack, but it’s not worth it at this stage. ESPN’s Ed Werder reports the Bears have no interest.

That would appear to wrap up our Favre rumors, reports and speculation for the regular season. We’ll re-join Favre when he releases a similar statement next year.

Our nation’s Favre addiction will take time to fully shake, but we’re making progress.

Yes, Brett Favre’s name has been floated as one that the Raiders should be considering or at least getting on the phone.

NBCs Pro Football Talk has posted (see below) a piece on how Favre is not on the Raider radar yet, but could be … mainly because it’s been known for a while that though he’s retired, Favre might be coaxed out of retirement for a partial season and also with John Madden working as an advisor for new owner Mark Davis, PFT thinks Madden may put in a plug for Favre.

What’s also interesting is that should Favre be considered and the unimaginable occur with a signing, the interest in the Oakland vs. Green Bay tilt scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 11, could take on a whole new meaning.

For the PFT post, see below.

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Clipped from: profootballtalk.nbcsports.com (share this clip)