Favre set to start Sunday against 49ers

Vikings get veteran back on the field

Brett Favre will start tonight against the San Francisco 49ers and should play a series or two and about 10 plays. From there he'll turn it over to backup quarterback Tarvaris Jackson.

Oddsmakers dog Favre in his return

Most sportsbooks have the Vikings set as 2.5-point underdogs with the game's total at 37 points.

It has been a bit of a busy week for the Vikings. The publicity of the whole Favre saga was a lot to deal with, even if the veteran quarterback did his best to reassure the team.

"I did feel -- more so than last year, believe it or not -- I needed them to know I'm all in," Favre told reporters. "Not that they didn't know. I think they did just from me being there. And that was kind of the mantra from all of those guys: 'We knew if we got you here, we were going to get you and you'd be all in. It was getting your [butt] here that is the problem.'

"The hardest part for me is leaving Hattiesburg and the tranquility and that stuff, leaving that. But when I left it, I knew it was nose to the grindstone for five months now."

Report: Favre Tells Vikings He's Done

Ankle injury holds Favre back

The Associated Press reports that Brett Favre has informed the Minnesota Vikings that he won't return to the team this season. Of course, this is Brett Favre we're talking about, so I'm trying to bite my tongue for a while to get concrete confirmation. He could just as easily swing by Vikings camp three weeks from now and let Brad Childress know he's ready to suit up again.

Annonymous source, few details

According to the source, Favre contacted Childress Monday night and said that his surgically-repaired ankle wasn't improving as quickly as he had hoped, which led to his decision. If all this does turn out to be true and Favre really does retire for a THIRD time, the Vikings are going to have to switch gears in a hurry.

Sure, they've been practicing without him and going through the motions, but the thought was always there that Favre would be ready for Week 1. Now the team may have to hope that some time on the bench did Tarvaris Jackson some good. He has a lot of talent, but didn't look ready for the pro game in his last stint as starter. If not Jackson, it may be up to Sage Rosenfels. Yikes.

Vikings Coach Visits Favre

One more time, with feeling

This is becoming a yearly pilgramage for Brad Childress. The Vikings head coach has been spotted in Southern Mississippi again, which just happens to be where his quarterback Brett Favre has been working out with some high school kids. A local TV station reported Favre and Childress were seen chatting together on Monday at the University of Southern Mississippi's football camp.

Childress wouldn't come right out and say why he made the trip but said "you can fill in the blanks" when a local TV station questioned him about it.

Favre gives Men's Journal magazine a decent quote (kind of)

When asked if he was concerned about his long-term health after having ankle surgery in the offseason he replied "playing another year probably isn't going to make a difference. The damage has already been done."

Minnesota's training camp is set to get underway in 10 days.

The Gunslinger Speaks

Favre wants to play again

Brett Favre made it pretty clear at Wednesday's ESPY awards that he wants to play for the Minnesota Vikings this season. The only thing that's keeping doubts in his head now is his surgically-repaired left ankle.

"I still have a little bit of time, and believe it or not, [I'm] not completely healthy," Favre told reporters after the show. "I guess at 40 I may never be. I'm not getting any younger, but I am working hard trying to feel as best I can. Last year, I felt great. My arm was totally different than it was the year before [in 2008 with the Jets] and that made my decision a little bit easier. But we'll see."

Vikings hold their breath

That "we'll see" part has to be killing the Vikings right now. If Favre doesn't come back, their quarterback depth chart is a complete crapshoot.

"It starts with the ankle," he said. "This coming Friday will be eight weeks [since the surgery], and I had hoped it would be a little bit better at this point. I can walk fine, but you don't walk in football.

"Then it kind of works from there up. If you wake up in the morning and your feet hurt, it kind of makes the rest of your body hurt, and if you've been sacked 700 times, that usually adds to it."

Getting Caught Up: Your Latest Headlines

LaDainian Tomlinson hops on the guarantee train

LT is tired of all the talk that he's too slow, too worn, too old to make a difference any more. After signing with the Jets this offseason, Tomlinson recently told reporters that New York will "absolutely" win a Super Bowl within the next two years. Don't worry about the fact that he's probably the No. 2 back in the depth chart. And if that wasn't enough, he already got himself a New York Jets tattoo.

Mark Brunell owes HOW much?

Somehow, Mark Brunell has filed for bankruptcy and owes $24.7 million. He picked up a cool $1.55 million with the New Orleans Saints last year. Looks like some awful real estate investments are the major issue.

Drew Brees figures Brett Favre will be back

For what it's worth, reigning Super Bowl champ Drew Brees is expecting to see the ol' gunslinger lining up under centre when the Saints host the Vikes in their season opener on Sept. 9.

"I don't think there's any doubt that Brett Favre is coming back, and he's going to be as good as he's ever been," Brees said Monday in an interview with FanHouse. "We're going to need our best game to beat him, I know that. They're a good team. A very good team."

The Brett Favre Retirement Watch: No News is Good News?

Brett Favre leaving Vikings in limbo

The Minnesota Vikings have no idea who their quarterback is going to be in Week 1 (does this sound familiar?) and according to recent reports, they don't even know if or when the ol' gunslinger is going to have surgery on that ankle that was giving him problems.



Apparently, this surgery (IF Favre decided to have it) would be a minor procedure, but that doesn't do much to set anybody in the Vikings organization at ease considering teams are opening minicamps this week.

Retirement?

Favre hasn't given any indication whether he's going to play another year or not, so for now, we wait. We wait for Favre to buckle that chin strap again, or usher in the next wave of Vikings quarterbacks - that means you, Tavaris Jackson/Sage Rosenfels/Marc Bulger/Kerry Collins. I'm not sure what would be worse.

Oddsmakers have the Minnesota Vikings set at +1500 to win the Super Bowl.