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Favre shakes off Vikings, for now

MINNEAPOLIS — Apparently Brett Favre will remain retired—for now.

Two days after reports surfaced that Vikings coach Brad Childress was going to meet with the future Hall of Fame quarterback, Favre reportedly told Childress he isn’t going to end his second retirement to play in Minnesota. Yahoo! Sports, which first reported the story Thursday on its Web site, cited a source close to the team as saying Favre delivered the news in a call that took place “sometime in the last day.”

The call apparently is what caused Childress to cancel a trip to discuss the situation with Favre. Bus Cook, Favre’s agent, told ESPN that Favre “is retired” and he doesn’t know of any phone conversation or meeting with Childress.

“Like anyone else, he could always change his mind in the future about retiring, but I haven’t heard anything from him that that’s the case,” Cook told reporters.

This means the Vikings again can focus on having Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels compete for the starting quarterback job in training camp. Rosenfels was acquired from the Houston Texans in late February for a fourth-round pick.

Childress declined to comment on Favre through a team spokesman on Thursday evening. The record-setting Favre, who turns 40 in October, potentially could have joined an offense that includes Pro Bowl running back Adrian Peterson and wide receivers Bernard Berrian and Percy Harvin.

“Brett Favre is an NFL legend and I hate to see him retire,” said Berrian, who on Wednesday admitted his excitement about the possibility of playing with Favre. “He’s done so much for the league, but you have to respect his decision to move on to the next chapter of his life. The fact that he considered coming back to the Vikings says a lot about the depth and potential we have as an organization. We have a strong team showing up to camp this year, and I’m very excited and optimistic about this season.”

This marks the second consecutive year there has been talk of the three-time NFL MVP possibly ending up with the Vikings. Last summer, Favre decided he had made a mistake by retiring from the Packers in March, and many believe he attempted to force his way to Minnesota after Green Bay officials did not embrace his decision to return.

The Packers eventually traded Favre to the New York Jets in what turned out to be an ugly divorce after a 16-season relationship. He spent one season in New York before retiring again in February, in part because of a partially torn biceps in his throwing arm.

Favre asked on more than one occasion and finally was granted his release from the Jets’ reserved/retired list on April 29. The move came after the Jets traded up in last month’s NFL draft and selected quarterback Mark Sanchez, meaning there was no reason to keep Favre’s rights.

That caused immediate speculation that Favre again would attempt to play for the Vikings, partially because of his desire to face the Packers twice a season.

That notion gained steam on Tuesday when ESPN broke the story that Favre and Childress would meet by the end of the week.

Among the potential topics to be addressed were the health of Favre’s biceps and his willingness to participate in the team’s offseason program. It’s unknown if there was a sticking point between Childress and Favre, but two people with knowledge of the situation said Favre was agreeable to undergoing minor surgery to repair the biceps.

Vikings Pro Bowl defensive end Jared Allen took the news of Favre’s decision in stride. “He is obviously a heck of a player,” Allen said. “If he wants to stay retired, more power to him. Our offseason goals weren’t about whether or not we would acquire Brett Favre. Our goals are still the same.”

According to the report on the Yahoo! website, Favre will publicly explain his decision in the coming days.

“I just hope at the end of the day Brett makes the best decision for him and his family,” said Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell, who was a teammate of Favre’s for nine seasons with the Packers.