Favre tells Vikings he is done
Quarterback Brett Favre ended all the mind games and speculations surrounding his return to the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday by announcing that he is retiring for the third time. Favre broke the news to Vikings’ head coach Brad Childress that he will not be returning for season number 20 in the NFL.
During their phone conversation, Favre informed Childress that his surgically repaired ankle is not responding as well as he had hoped. Favre did not suggest that this was the only reason behind his decision.
Nearly everyone in Vikings camp hinted that they expected to see the ageless wonder back in the lineup by the end of training camp or at some point during the preseason. After all he was coming off one of his best seasons, statistically speaking, in 2009. He was playing mistake-free football and the turnover prone Favre never showed in 2009.
The Vikings were hoping that number four, who was under contract for $13 million in 2010, would come back and finished what they started last season after going 12-4 during the regular season only to lose in the National Football Conference championship game.
Childress had little to say after the news but admitted he wasn’t sure whether Favre was really done or if he would change his mind again and play out his contract. Kind of like his style of play, you never know what the veteran gunslinger is going to do next. He is just that unpredictable on and off the field
.Favre, 40, has flirted with the notion of retiring since 2006. First it was with the Green Bay Packers, then the New York Jets and now the Vikings seem to be the last stop on Favre’s NFL journey.
The subject of Favre's retirement has come up every off-season since then. After talking about it for two years, Favre finally retired in March 2008 from the Green Bay Packers. That retirement lasted all of four months, and by the summer it was announced he was in the hunt for a new team. He joined the Jets, played one season with them and then announced his retirement again. But once again it was not to be, as he hesitated, then finally opted to come out of retirement yet again, and played the 2009 season with the Vikings.
While Favre is still in many ways a revered player, his unpredictability and constant changing of his mind have led many to criticize Favre for dominating media cycles and making things difficult on the teams he plays for by keeping them in suspense. With this last retirement, it's unlikely too many people will be taking it as 100 per cent certain Favre won't change his mind and decide to lace up his cleats again.
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