Brett Favre is considering coming out of retirement, ESPN reported Wednesday. Whether he goes through with this or whether he plays somewhere other than Green Bay remains to be seen. Would the Packers put Aaron Rodgers (you're either with him or against him!) back on the bench for another season? Probably, considering the Packers were talented enough to be big favorites in the NFC title game just five months ago.
But what if the Pack wants no part of Favre's return? Then it becomes a question of what clubs would have interest in him. Handicappers preparing for the '08 season might want to take a minutes to assess the (potential) market for him, just in case.
Here's a wildly speculative, division-by-division look at this market, which, again, only exists for the purpose of wild, 3rd-of-July off-hand speculation at this point:
AFC
East: Buffalo, no; time to let Trent Edwards have the job for 16 games. Miami, perhaps. New England? No. The Jets? They want to win now; perhaps.
North: Baltimore? Perhaps. The Ravens want to develop a young QB, but they have a veteran core that wants to win now. Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh are not options.
South: Can't see a team in this division being a landing place for Favre.
West: Denver, no. Kansas City? Probably not -- need to see what Brodie Croyle can do, and the Chiefs are a year or two away from serious playoff aspirations. Oakland? Longshot. San Diego? Only if Philip Rivers' injury was a major concern.
NFC
East: Dallas, no. Philly, no. Giants, no. The Redskins? You figure they would consider it, even as much as they want to develop Jason Campbell.
North: Minnesota? Put the Vikings on the list; Tarvaris Jackson needs more seasoning, and the team has NFC title aspirations. Favre could help in Detroit, but can't see him finishing his career there. Same goes for Chicago, even though the Bears need the help. But I can't completely rule Chicago out; the Bears have just enough defensive talent to make a run if the offense exceeds expectations. And if things really got bitter between Favre and the Packers ( a longshot), what better team to sign with?
South: Atlanta, no. Carolina? Probably not; that's Jake Delhomme's offense. New Orleans? No. Tampa Bay? The stock answer is, 'Yes -- Jon Gruden loves veteran QBs and worked with Favre in Green Bay.' And that answer is probably correct.
West: Arizona, no. Same goes for St. Louis and Seattle. San Francisco? That would be a bold, win-now sort of move for the Niners, but I get the sense they want to see what Alex Smith can do in this new offense. But might they have interest? They could.
Rush to judgment: Miami, N.Y. Jets, Baltimore, Minnesota, Washington, Tampa Bay, San Francisco seem the most likely teams to have interest in Favre, with San Diego, Oakland and Chicago the second-tier of possibilities.
Any way you look at it, a Favre comeback would be fascinating, especially were it somewhere other than Green Bay. Someone would get shoved out of a starting lineup. And Favre would likely have to learn a new offense in a short period of time.
It's something all NFL handicappers figure to be pondering over the holiday weekend.
