Brett Favre probably will play football this fall, but it won't be for the Green Bay Packers.
It will be for the Baltimore Ravens, or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, or maybe even the hated rival Minnesota Vikings.
Favre asked Friday for his unconditional release from Green Bay and the team's response said it all. Like a bride at the altar with a new husband, the Packers have moved on.
"The finality of his decision to retire was accepted by the organization," the club said in a statement. "At that point, the Green Bay Packers made the commitment to move forward with our football team. . . .
"As with all Packers greats, Brett's legacy will always be celebrated by our fans and the organization, regardless of any change in his personal intentions."
Friday's development, first aired by ESPN, came three months after The Times reported Favre's agent, Bus Cook, was checking around with other teams about their interest in trading for the player.
At the time, Cook called that story "absolutely false."
But what Cook was telling teams was this: Brett still wants to play. He was disappointed that the Packers didn't make a bigger effort to talk him out of retiring, especially after his terrific performance last season, and he was frustrated the Packers didn't try to sign All-Pro receiver Randy Moss -- also a client of Cook's -- when they twice had the chance.
So what happens now?
The Packers have several options, none of them appetizing.
They can bring Favre back, but that would mean derailing the Aaron Rodgers era -- and just try re-signing Rodgers when he becomes a free agent after the 2009 season -- and paying Favre his entire $12-million salary, even if they were to release him after one day of training camp. The prospect of Favre backing up Rodgers is unthinkable.
The Packers can grant Favre's request and release him, knowing that might mean they'll face him twice a season as a member of the Vikings or Chicago Bears.
With a running back like Adrian Peterson, and a defense bolstered by the addition of Jared Allen, the Vikings are a lot of people's Super Bowl team, anyway. Replace young quarterback Tarvaris Jackson with Favre, and Minnesota would have a dream team of talent.
A couple things to consider, though: The Vikings have only about $5 million in salary cap space -- and that's without signing their draft picks -- and Jackson had an outstanding off-season. That said, the franchise probably would do whatever was necessary to sign Favre if he were on the open market.
Surely, the Packers want value in the form of draft picks for Favre and don't want to see him playing for an NFC North rival. The two most obvious landing spots are Tampa Bay and Baltimore.
Buccaneers Coach Jon Gruden, who has a history of stockpiling quarterbacks and loves veterans and star players, is a huge admirer of Favre and coached him as an assistant in Green Bay. Tampa Bay has the cap room to sign Favre, a modified West Coast offense that fits him, and it's geographically desirable for a quarterback whose family lives in Mississippi.
The Ravens would be a logical fit for Favre too, because they're an AFC team, they're coming off the retirement of Steve McNair, and they're looking to groom first-round pick Joe Flacco. Favre could be an ideal mentor for him, far better than the current Kyle Boller or Troy Smith.
There is always a chance Favre and the Packers could somehow hash out their differences and find a way for him to finish his career in Green Bay. But, as training camp nears, that's becoming less likely by the day.
Although no one knows just where No. 4 will be taking snaps in September, Favre and Green Bay now find themselves miles apart philosophically, yet sharing the same ZIP code.
In Splitsville.
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