MANKATO, Minn. — Brett Favre’s flip-flopping is at full throttle, the surest sign yet that training camp is underway in Minnesota.
Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and Favre’s agent, Bus Cook, said Wednesday the quarterback plans to return to the team if he is healthy. Favre, 40, is rehabbing his surgically repaired left ankle he injured in the NFC title game loss at New Orleans.
“I know it’s a decision that he wrestles with,” Bevell said after a morning practice as Favre was throwing the ball around with high school students in Mississippi. “He’s a great player. He’s a great competitor. He mulls things over. He’s an emotional guy. So he thinks things through long and hard and takes his time with his decision.”
A day earlier, Favre texted some teammates and Vikings officials to say his ankle was not healing like he had hoped and he planned to retire. Favre denied sending any such messages and there was no explanation for the discrepancy.
Cook said Favre will visit his surgeon, Dr. James Andrews, next week for an evaluation.
“He’s working out really hard and everything seems to indicate that if he is healthy and can contribute and play at the level that he has become accustomed to, he will play,” Cook said.
The two-year, $25 million contract Favre signed last year calls for him to make $13 million this season. Cook said there have been no negotiations on any adjustments to the deal. Favre said his decision is “not about the money.”
An entire advertising campaign has been built around Favre’s indecisiveness and his teammates have become accustomed to hourly changes in his status.
“It’s been about three years now I’ve been getting asked the Brett Favre questions,” said Tarvaris Jackson, who would take over as the starter if Favre does not return. “It’s kind of part of my life now. I actually might miss it.”
