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Consider the Green Bay Packers backed up against their own goal line.
Brett Favre followed through on his statements that he wanted to come out of retirement by faxing his reinstatement letter to the NFL on Tuesday.
League spokesman Randall Liu confirmed the action after ESPN's Chris Mortensen had reported it earlier.
Favre sent the letter to the league office late Tuesday afternoon and also spoke by phone with commissioner Roger Goodell, who indicated he will not act on Tuesday in hopes the Packers and Favre can reach a resolution during the next 24 hours, the sources said.
Packers general manager Ted Thompson then will be forced to make a decision -- accept Favre back, trade him or release him.
"It's obviously the first step in Brett coming back, but we'll deal with that when Brett is reinstated and have a plan for that when he comes back," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said, adding that the team is still committed to Aaron Rodgers as its starting quarterback.
McCarthy added: "The plan for Brett Favre will be discussed first with Brett Favre and then we'll make the public aware of it."
Rodgers tried to take the latest news in stride.
"I'm not as affected as you guys think I am or should be," he said. "They told me I'm the starter, and until that changes, that's going to be my focus. I keep saying that."
Rodgers has played in seven games over three seasons as Favre's understudy, but he wasn't about to hand over his job.
"I have confidence in myself and I have confidence in how the coaches on the staff feel about me," he said. "And he's not here yet. We're still dealing in hypotheticals for the moment, until he gets here."
Not all of the Packers could just brush off the situation, however.
"Any time you have a situation where there is a distraction or one guy getting all the attention or the buzz, rather than on us concentrating or executing plays, you get tired of answering questions," defensive back Charles Woodson said. "It's only going to be worse if he shows up in camp tomorrow or the next day.
"We've just all got to be prepared to be professionals and to practice hard and work hard and make sure everyone on the team is doing their job."
The Favre saga hasn't been short on daily drama off the field.
Favre told Mortensen on Sunday that the GM had pleaded with the quarterback not to show up at camp on Sunday, so that the situation could be resolved.
"I asked Ted [Saturday], 'Am I welcome in the building if I report?' And Ted was just about shattered," Favre said. "He said, 'Brett, you can't do that -- you'll get me fired.' I told him I'm not trying to get anybody fired. So Ted asked me to let the guys report and let's try to resolve this over the next two or three days."
With no concrete movement in the past few days, Favre made his move. The Packers have publicly committed to Rodgers, however.
Favre has offered to compete for the starting job in training camp, but he said in Sunday's interview that he was told that is not an option.
"It's pretty clear -- and this is what I told the commissioner -- that they want me to go away, stay retired," Favre said.
The Packers have already said that they will not release their former franchise quarterback, but they have looked into trading him. Nothing tangible has happened on that front either.
Favre retired in March after 16 season in the league as the all-time leader in touchdown passes with 442.
Source: ESPN.com
Brett Favre followed through on his statements that he wanted to come out of retirement by faxing his reinstatement letter to the NFL on Tuesday.
League spokesman Randall Liu confirmed the action after ESPN's Chris Mortensen had reported it earlier.
Favre sent the letter to the league office late Tuesday afternoon and also spoke by phone with commissioner Roger Goodell, who indicated he will not act on Tuesday in hopes the Packers and Favre can reach a resolution during the next 24 hours, the sources said.
Packers general manager Ted Thompson then will be forced to make a decision -- accept Favre back, trade him or release him.
"It's obviously the first step in Brett coming back, but we'll deal with that when Brett is reinstated and have a plan for that when he comes back," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said, adding that the team is still committed to Aaron Rodgers as its starting quarterback.
McCarthy added: "The plan for Brett Favre will be discussed first with Brett Favre and then we'll make the public aware of it."
Rodgers tried to take the latest news in stride.
"I'm not as affected as you guys think I am or should be," he said. "They told me I'm the starter, and until that changes, that's going to be my focus. I keep saying that."
Rodgers has played in seven games over three seasons as Favre's understudy, but he wasn't about to hand over his job.
"I have confidence in myself and I have confidence in how the coaches on the staff feel about me," he said. "And he's not here yet. We're still dealing in hypotheticals for the moment, until he gets here."
Not all of the Packers could just brush off the situation, however.
"Any time you have a situation where there is a distraction or one guy getting all the attention or the buzz, rather than on us concentrating or executing plays, you get tired of answering questions," defensive back Charles Woodson said. "It's only going to be worse if he shows up in camp tomorrow or the next day.
"We've just all got to be prepared to be professionals and to practice hard and work hard and make sure everyone on the team is doing their job."
The Favre saga hasn't been short on daily drama off the field.
Favre told Mortensen on Sunday that the GM had pleaded with the quarterback not to show up at camp on Sunday, so that the situation could be resolved.
"I asked Ted [Saturday], 'Am I welcome in the building if I report?' And Ted was just about shattered," Favre said. "He said, 'Brett, you can't do that -- you'll get me fired.' I told him I'm not trying to get anybody fired. So Ted asked me to let the guys report and let's try to resolve this over the next two or three days."
With no concrete movement in the past few days, Favre made his move. The Packers have publicly committed to Rodgers, however.
Favre has offered to compete for the starting job in training camp, but he said in Sunday's interview that he was told that is not an option.
"It's pretty clear -- and this is what I told the commissioner -- that they want me to go away, stay retired," Favre said.
The Packers have already said that they will not release their former franchise quarterback, but they have looked into trading him. Nothing tangible has happened on that front either.
Favre retired in March after 16 season in the league as the all-time leader in touchdown passes with 442.
Source: ESPN.com