The Minnesota Vikings and the rest of the world received a shocking bit of news this afternoon, as legendary quarterback and Vikings starter Brett Favre is calling it quits after 19 NFL seasons.
Favre, as reported by various media outlets including ESPN, announced his ‘retirement’ mainly to teammates through various text messages all while putting his future in the NFL in flux.
The 3-time NFL MVP has done this before, previously with the Green Bay Packers and most recently with the New York Jets before signing onto play with the Vikings last season. If Favre does indeed retire, his one year with Minnesota was one heck of a ride.
Highlighted by one of his best regular season’s ever—107.2 QB Rating, 33 TD’s, 7 INT, 68.4% CMP—one in which the Vikings lost to eventual NFC and NFL Champions New Orleans Saints, Favre could be bringing one of the legendary careers to an end.
Many however, are still skeptical at the move.
Reports say that Favre has yet to talk to Vikings management, rather saying “This is it” to teammates through various multi-media messages. Head coach Brad Childress addressed the issue saying he hadn’t received any news from Favre himself on whether he was retiring or not.
The fact that this has occurred on more than one occasion has many around the league—team’s and fans—calling his bluff.
Chicago Bears starting linebacker Lance Briggs isn’t convinced saying,
I won’t believe it until I see Tarvaris Jackson starting against us.
Other division rival’s weren’t as convinced either, as Green Packers linebacker Nick Barnett said,
It’s like believing in Santa Claus. You get gifts, but you ain’t seen Santa Claus. We’ll see what happens … If he does retire, congratulations. It’s a well-deserved retirement. But if he does come back, we’ll be gunning for him the same way.
If Favre is serious about his decision and makes his retirement official, the Vikings are left in search of a proven leader behind center. Reserves Tavaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels would likely compete for the starting spot, unless Vikings management felt it was necessary to find a more reliable option.
With such skepticism behind the move, it will definitely be interesting to see what happens in the coming days and weeks.
Here’s my two cents: Make a real @!#$&%* decision already!!