Brett Favre will have his No. 4 retired by the Green Bay Packers at some point, but there’s still some apprehension with how things ended for the all-time great.
The Packers and Favre are both on the same page in wanting the former quarterback to return to Green Bay soon, but part of the reason it hasn’t happened yet is because both sides are unsure about the kind of reception Favre will get upon returning to Lambeau Field, according to ESPN Wisconsin.
Favre unceremoniously left the team in 2007 after waffling over retirement, essentially holding the team hostage until he made his decision. Favre decided he wanted to play, and the Packers decided they wanted to hand the keys to Aaron Rodgers. The result was a messy divorce between the Packers and the face of their franchise.
Time heals all wounds, though, and the two sides have opened dialogue. However, Favre’s former teammate Mark Chmura recently reported for ESPN Wisconsin that Favre is apprehensive about returning to Lambeau Field because he doesn’t want to be booed.
The Packers apparently feel the same way.
“That is an issue,” Packers president Mark Murphy told ESPN Wisconsin. “He doesn’t want it, and neither do we. He wouldn’t want to come back and get booed. You can’t control 80,750 people … (but) I really think as time goes on, every year that passes, it’s less likely that he would get booed, but that is an issue.”
Murphy wouldn’t rule out a potential return to Lambeau for Favre this season, but retiring No. 4 is out of the question — for this season at least.
“I don’t anticipate having him retire a number this season, in a game this year,” Murphy said. “We have very good relations and very good communication, but I don’t anticipate that this year.”
One of the people who wants to see Favre back in Green Bay sooner than later is Favre’s successor, Rodgers. The former NFL MVP said last year that he would like to see Favre return and that “it’s time to let the healing process begin for those who are still upset about what went down.”
Favre rewrote the Packers’ record book in his 16 years with the team, and he led Green Bay back to the promised land when his 1997 team won Super Bowl XXXI over the New England Patriots.
