Brett Favre Taking Injections To Dull Pain In Ailing Ankle; Doesn't Know If He Can Make It?

Brett Favre waited until the last minute to decide if he was going to return to the Minnesota Vikings for a second season due to concerns regarding a nagging ankle injury.

The nearly 41-year-old quarterback told Sports Illustrated’s Peter King that he’s taking “lubricant injections” to help his ankle be as mobile as an ankle can possibly be following three surgeries and a long NFL career.

“My ankle just seems to get easier to sprain. I know everyone thinks the New Orleans game [the NFC Championship Game] killed me, but it was bad before then. Now we’ll see if I can make it. My mind’s telling me one thing, but my body’s telling me something else.’’

This, coupled with the news that Favre wasn’t excited that Sidney Rice would miss the first half of the season, could mean something.

Of course, maybe it doesn’t.

As has been par for the course with Favre, only time will tell.

Report: Brett Favre Could Make $20 Million This Season

There was talk prior to Brett Favre returning to the Minnesota Vikings that money was possibly one of the sticking points for the quarterbacks return, though he dismissed that rumor as soon as it was brought to him.

Regardless if that was true or not, Favre will make more money this season – up to $20 million – after restructuring his contract according to ProFootballTalk.

Per a league source, Vikings quarterback Brett Favre got his new contract on Monday. He received a signing bonus of $4.4 million, and he reduced his base salary from $13 million to $11.6 million. Favre also is eligible to earn $4 million in incentives, which allows him to make up to $20 million in 2010.

Since nothing is done regarding Favre’s status without some sort of conspiracy involved, PFT brings up an interesting, if not outlandish, point regarding the timing of the contract.

Favre’s new deal was finalized the day before word emerged that receiver Sidney Rice underwent surgery that will knock him out of action for two months. If Favre knew he’d be without Rice for at least two months, would he have wanted to push some of the money tied to incentives based on team accomplishments toward his base salary?

Things that make you go hmmm.

Brett Favre Will Start In Sunday Preseason Game Against San Francisco

ESPN.com is reporting that Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre will start for the team in its Sunday preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers, according to his head coach Brad Childress.

Favre will start in the Vikings’ second preseason game Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Friday.

Favre will play a series or two, ideally about 10 snaps.

“That’s about all he needs right now and all he’s ready for right now,” Childress said.

For full preseason coverage of the Minnesota Vikings, head over to SB Nation’s Daily Norseman.

Brett Favre's Ankle Is Still A Concern

As we reported earlier, Brett Favre is officially back with the Minnesota Vikings. But that doesn’t mean it’s smooth sailing, at least not yet.

According to a Star Tribune report, Favre recently underwent post-surgery evaluation on his ankle and the results weren’t totally as expected.

Favre finally had the procedure performed in late May by Dr. James Andrews. That marked the third time Favre has undergone arthroscopic surgery on that ankle in his career. He met with Andrews last Thursday in Gulf Breeze, Fla., for a follow up.

“We did a new X-ray and surprisingly a new spur had surfaced,” Favre said. “Not as big as what he had taken out, but in that short amount of time it was really surprising. There is a little pain in there, and we thought it was more just scar tissue and things, and that may be a part of it, but the fact is it’s just something you have to deal with. There is a little bit more range of motion now since the surgery, but we’re not talking about a lot.”

Be sure to check back here over the next nine months as Favre deals with his ankle publicly on a daily basis. I kid.

Brett Favre Attends Vikings Practice; Holds Press Conference To Announce Return

The will he or won’t he drama concluded for another season this afternoon as Brett Favre practiced with the Minnesota Vikings Wednesday morning before holding a press conference in the afternoon.

In the press conference, he talked about his decision, his reasons for coming back and the status of his ankle.

The quote that will hit Vikings fans the hardest is probably when the quarterback said “I owe to to this organization to give it one more try.”

For more quotes, including video of the press conference, Yahoo! Sports’ Shutdown Corner blog has "the seven most revealing quotes from Brett Favre’s press conference."

Brett Favre Is About To Get Paid In A Major Way

Judd Zulgad of StarTribune.com writes that Brett Favre’s expected return to the Minnesota Vikings could wind up earning the future Hall Of Fame quarterback a big time raise.

The Vikings, according to NFL sources, continue to express a willingness to pay Favre a base salary of $16 million this season instead of the originally planned $13 million he was due under the two-year contract he signed last August.

It’s also believed he could have $4 million worth of incentives written into his contract that could bring the deal to $20 million. That would mean $1 million for each season the future Hall of Fame quarterback has played in the league.

The only thing I would incentivize is a lack of interceptions.

Brett Favre Lands In Minnesota, Reportedly Ready To Rejoin Vikings

ESPN reports that Brett Favre’s airplane arrival in Minnesota is now complete and his teammates are saying he’s there to play.

The 40-year-old quarterback returned to Minnesota on Tuesday, arriving in a private jet trimmed in the Vikings’ purple and gold with three teammates — guard Steve Hutchinson, defensive end Jared Allen and place-kicker Ryan Longwell — who were sent to Hattiesburg, Miss., to bring him back for one more shot at a Super Bowl.

Longwell told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols in a text message that Favre told the three he would play for the Vikings this season.

“We simply went down there to get an answer and after talking for a while, his answer was ‘yes,’” Longwell said in the message. “He loves the guys in the locker room and is doing it for all of us.”

For more reaction, head over to SB Nation’s Daily Norseman, where the comments are piling up in a hurry.

Arrivin' On A Jet Plane: Favre Heading To Minneapolis

According to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, Brett Favre has told the Minnesota Vikings he’s “back in” and is currently on a plane flying towards Minneapolis.

Favre informed the trio (Steve Hutchinson, Jared Allen, and Ryan Longwell) Tuesday that he is, in fact, back in and will rejoin the Vikings, FOXsports.com has learned.

In addition, Favre is on the plane with the players and is heading back to Minneapolis. However, while signs point to Favre coming back, neither he nor his agent have informed the team that he’s returning. And with Favre, another change of heart is certainly not out of the question.

So, it appears that Favre is, indeed, returning for a 20th season. In other equally shocking news, water is wet, and the sun did, indeed, rise in the east this morning.

Oh Good Gracious... Vikings May Have Sent Trio To Convince Favre To Return

The Vikings, in their continuing quest to make this saga resemble as closely as possible someone who's trying to get a date for the junior prom, may have sent three players to Hattiesburg, Miss., to get Brett Favre to return for 2010.

Take it away, Judd Zulgad of the Star Tribune:

...The Vikings began the morning practice on Tuesday at Winter Park without defensive end Jared Allen, offensive guard Steve Hutchinson or kicker Ryan Longwell on the field. All three were at practice Monday and haven’t dealt with injuries of late.

 

It's believed the trio was sent to Hattiesburg, Miss., to try to convince Favre to return. Sources confirmed the three were not at meetings earlier this morning either.

A kerfuffle over text messages... people anxiously gathered around a pickup truck to find a decision... a high school football team...

One can only assume that Allen, Hutchinson, and Longwell were dispatched to deliver one thing and one thing only: a note from Zygi Wilf.

"Dear Brett: We like you. Do you like us? Check yes or no."

Vikings May Have Allowed Three Players To Miss Camp In Order To Visit Brett Favre

Judd Zulgad of the Star Tribune reports that Jared Allen, Steve Hutchinson, and Ryan Longwell were absent from Vikings practice this morning. Because none of the players have reported injuries, and none were spotted at pre-practice meetings, the speculation is that the Vikings sent them to visit Brett Favre’s home in Hattiesburg, MS, in order to convince him to return to the Vikings.

Stay tuned to this StoryStream to read the latest Favre developments.

Favre Says He'll Play If He's Healthy

ESPN's Ed Werder reports:

Brett Favre told ESPN's Ed Werder that he has not made any decision about returning for the 2010 season and says he will play if healthy.

Favre also denies sending text messages to the contrary to any Vikings personnel, and says this isn't about the money.

Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune also has perhaps the silliest quote of the day:

Favre said he had not texted teammates to tell them he was retiring, although tight end Visanthe Shiancoe said he had done just that.

"That's Shank," Favre chuckled. "That's why I love him."

Yes, Favre is asking us to believe that the messages - reported by sources and confirmed by Shiancoe - were all some sort of mass delusion, and that Shiancoe's confirmation was nothing but a well-executed joke. Uh... right.

And so, Day 2: Direct contradictions to confirmed Day 1 reports!

Favre Working Out In Mississippi, Possibly For More Money

It's Day Two of Volume XLVII of the Brett Favre Retirement Saga. The ol' gunslinger's back at Oak Grove High in Hattiesburg with the local team this morning, according to ESPN:

Favre did not appear to be working out Wednesday morning, but simply ran onto the field and began lightly tossing the ball with players in warmups. He then helped as the players went through drills.

As to why he'd be doing this a day after (theoretically) telling team officials he was done, we can only speculate. Judd Zulgad of the Star Tribune, as always, can speculate better than most:

According to NFL sources, the Vikings' pitch to bring back Favre now includes an offer that could pay him $20 million -- $16 million guaranteed, plus incentives potentially worth another $4 million. Favre was scheduled to make $13 million this season.

Seven million dollars does have a way of persuading people to do things they might otherwise not do, doesn't it?

Closing The Loop On The Day's Favre News

So here's what we know for sure about the ongoing Brett Favre saga, just to recap:

1. Via text message, Favre informed at least a few people with the Vikings that he wasn't coming back, or was at least leaning towards not coming back. This is what the original reports said, this is what Visanthe Shiancoe confirmed - this seems to be the truth.
2. The team, knowing Favre's propensity to be on the fence, isn't ready to move on yet. Whether they're planning to offer him more money, or just give him enough space to change his mind, they believe that this is not at all a cut-and-dried decision.
3. Favre's family has denied that he has made his final decision, and with no statement from either the man himself, his agent Bus Cook, or anyone close to him, nothing can be said to have been decided.
4. Even if a definitive statement is made, it's Brett Favre - no door is ever truly closed.

More interesting, I think, is this question: Why now? A few possible reasons:

• Favre actually, genuinely believed that this was it. But if this was true, then why not make an announcement? Why not release a statement and let everybody move on with the "When will he un-retire this time?" speculation?
• Favre is a shameless attention hog who wanted to hear from the media, the fans, the organization, and his teammates just how much they all wanted him back. This is just too sad to discuss, so let's move on.
• Favre and his agent realized that the Vikings are absolutely over a barrel if Favre doesn't come back, and while $13 million for next year is good, $19 million - or some similar number - would be even better. And so the ol' gunslinger put all his chips in the center of the table, knowing that he held every last one of the cards.
• Conspiracy theory: This story was invented in a late-night secret meeting between the Star Tribune's Mark Craig, ESPN's Ed Werder, and the management company of LeBron James. The Strib gets a website-crashing story, ESPN gets something to fill eighteen hours of network time, and everybody forgets what an (expletive) James is, for awhile.
• The most likely, I suppose: the ankle's not ready to go, and Favre either really thinks he can't play, or is trying to buy more time to heal.

We'll see what tomorrow brings. But I'm not sure it could be much wilder than today.

King: Brett Favre's Mother 'Doubts' Retirement Story

Earlier we noted that Brett Favre’s family denied a report that said he plans to retire.

Peter King of Sports Illustrated reported similar information on Twitter Tuesday night adding that the Minnesota Vikings quarterback is seeking more information about his injured ankle. King wrote, “2 Favre notes I learned today: He’s still trying to see James Andrews to see why ankle hurts so much … His Mom doubts the story.”

Favre Family Denies Retirement Report

A spokesman for the Favre family has said that there has been no decision by Favre on whether he will return or not.

I still think he’s coming back, but we’ll see.

Shiancoe Confirms Text Message Reports

Though there was some question whether the initial reports of Brett Favre's text messages were accurate, tight end Visanthe Shiancoe has corroborated the messages, according to Judd Zulgad.

Visanthe Shiancoe confirms that some players have learned from Favre he plans to retire. Shiancoe hasn't been told that yet by Favre.

You can expect the rest of the organization to say relatively little about this, because it seems clear that management on down still hopes to convince Favre otherwise. Still, though, if Favre could be swayed from this decision, then why would he make it in the first place?

Childress, Vikings Claim Ignorance Of Favre Decision

Vikings head coach Brad Childress is meeting with the media at Vikings training camp in Mankato; we are of course indebted to Judd Zulgad of the greatest newspaper in the world, the Star Tribune, for live-tweeting it.

Zulgad reports that every player denied any knowledge of Favre's decision one way or the other. He also reports that Childress claims to have not heard of any decision, and that the coach "wouldn't be surprised" no matter which way the story goes. The coach says he's talked to Favre in the last 24 hours and hasn't heard anything.

You can thus translate this story one of two ways, at this point:

1. Brett Favre is, for whatever reasons, floating the idea of retiring without actually making up his mind. One can only speculate as to why he'd toss rocks into that particular pond to watch the rings spread.
2. In the hopes of getting Favre to reconsider, the entire organization is on no-comment lockdown, as they try to get the quarterback to change his mind.

Frankly, the second seems much more likely to me, but we shall see.

Could More Money Lure Favre Back?

Some reports seem to think so, such as the following from Judd Zulgad at the Star Tribune:

There is a chance ownership will go back to Favre with an offer of more than the 13 million for this season.

If it turns out that it's about money, then I - and hopefully everyone - will be inexpressibly angry at a large group of people.

Zulgad is following the story, and he tweets the following:

10 am: Keep in mind I'm hearing Vikings still feel the situation is fluid. As I said before still time to talk him out of it.

10:48am: Vikings VP Rob Brzezinski huddled with owners Zygi and Mark Wilf and exec Kevin Warren. Brzezinski is Vikes money man.

10:53am: More members now getting involved in discussion. I wonder how much more money is offered to Favre by the end of the day?

ESPN Mobilizes To Full Alert

Spencer Hall at the SB Nation mothership knows what this means: ESPN FAVREAPALOOZA!

We are at code Favre, people. Sound the horns, spin the gumball lights. Enter “INT” into the keypad, man! We have no time! Bristol has to be a on a war footing in two minutes and there’s so much to do.

Follow SBNation.com and the Daily Norseman for more, much more. Or just turn on ESPN, I guess.

Favre officially hanging them up?

So says the Star Tribune, which is reporting that Brett Favre began telling Vikings officials that he won't play in 2010.

Brett Favre's wavering nature makes it impossible to call anything official -- even when it seems to be that way -- but NFL sources said the quarterback began informing Vikings personnel late Monday night that he has decided to retire for a third time.

Why we'd believe anything we hear on August 3rd, even if it comes directly from Favre, is up for debate. Still, the Vikings have made it more than clear that there was no pressure on Favre to attend training camp or do anything at all in the offseason, so this can't be a ploy to avoid camp. If the reports are accurate, this could mean that it's the end of the Favre era.

Or it could be just the latest waffle in the saga.

Jay Glazer, who's always quite plugged in, says the same thing:

Favre has told teammates he will NOT play this season, citing wear and tear on his body. Team is hoping he will change his mind