MANKATO, Minn. — Brett Favre’s stint with the Minnesota Vikings appears to be over after a single season.
Favre has informed the Vikings he will not return to Minnesota this fall, according to multiple reports.
Favre has sent text messages to teammates saying, “This is it,” league sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
Neither Favre nor the Vikings has confirmed the news, but a statement is expected later Tuesday, the sources said.
Vikings coach Brad Childress said Tuesday that he has talked to Favre in the last 24 hours but was unaware of the reports of Favre’s apparent decision to retire.
The Associated Press, citing an unnamed source, reported that the 40-year-old Favre called Childress to say his injured ankle is not responding as well to surgery and rehabilitation as he had hoped.
With Favre, of course, nothing is ever necessarily final after 19 NFL seasons. He told the Vikings last year he wouldn’t play, but changed his mind and joined them immediately after they broke training camp. Camp this year ends on Aug. 12.
Favre has waffled on retiring every summer since 2006. It led to an ugly parting with the Packers that got him traded from Green Bay to the Jets in 2008. After a so-so season in New York, he announced his retirement in early 2009 for the second time, then reconsidered and signed with the Vikings.
He had one of his best seasons last year, with career bests in completion percentage (68.4), quarterback rating (107.2) and fewest interceptions (7), while throwing for 33 TDs and 4,202 yards to lead the Vikings to an NFC North title. He hurt his left ankle in the NFC Championship Game loss to the New Orleans Saints and had arthroscopic surgery in May.
Favre Retiring Again?
If Brett Favre does retire, he will leave the NFL holding several passing records and three NFL MVP awards. The 11-time Pro Bowler also has 18 straight 3,000-yard seasons and 12 consecutive years of 20 or more TD passes.
Favre was under contract for $13 million this season, but only if he plays.
If Favre doesn’t return, the Vikings’ starting quarterback job likely will be decided in a training camp battle between Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels.
The 27-year-old Jackson, drafted in the second round of the 2006 draft, has a 77.9 quarterback rating and has 21 touchdowns and 18 interceptions, passing for 3,643 yards in 33 career games.
The 32-year-old Rosenfels, acquired by the Vikings last year in a trade with the Houston Texans, has a career rating of 81.2. In 32 games, he has 30 touchdowns and 29 interceptions and has passed for 4,156 yards.
The Vikings also drafted quarterback Joe Webb in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL draft.
Nearly everyone had assumed Favre would return and he did nothing to discourage that. He threw passes for a second straight summer with high school students in Hattiesburg, Miss., joked about playing until he’s 50 and said playing another year wouldn’t worsen his already-damaged ankle.
Childress shrugged off all the questions and admitted he didn’t know whether Favre would really come back. The Vikings didn’t pursude a trade for Donovan McNabb and declined to select a quarterback of the future in the draft.
Still, Favre took a beating in the loss to the Saints and said afterward that he would not take long to make a decision on returning for the second year of his contract. As the months ticked by, Favre posted a statement on his website reminding everyone that his ankle problems didn’t mean his career was over.
If Favre decides to actually retire for good — it will end one of the most storied careers in NFL history. A three-time MVP, he holds every major NFL career passing record.
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