How will Packers solve Favre puzzle?

The Green Bay Packers have four choices when it comes to Brett Favre and his apparent desire to return to the NFL.

They could:

-- Allow him to come back.

-- Cut him and let him explore options with other teams.

-- Trade him.

-- Convince him that a return would be an unwise decision.

There's no timetable for a solution to this issue. The outcome depends largely on how hard Favre pushes his desire to return.
1. Let him come back

The first option seemingly is out of the question. All indications are the Packers have moved on and have embraced life after Favre.

The coaching staff has. Coach Mike McCarthy, offensive coordinator Joe Philbin and quarterbacks coach Tom Clements spent the offseason shaping the offense around Aaron Rodgers' strengths.

At the NFL annual meetings in Palm Beach, Fla., in early April, McCarthy discussed how the offense would be different with Rodgers. Whereas Favre's best throw was the slant, Rodgers' best throw is something different.

"I'll tell you what, Aaron can really drive the football," McCarthy said at the time. "I would say what we refer to as the 'dog" or the 'puma' — the 15-yard breaking route or the 15-yard out breaking route (are Rodgers' best throws)."

At that time, preparations with Rodgers had just begun, but even then, McCarthy spoke of how the philosophy had shifted.

"It's important when you get into game planning (to) have that critical play in the game — a third down or fourth down — and you give the quarterback a play that he's totally familiar with so there's no guessing and he knows where everybody's at and you make it clean for him," McCarthy said. "We're starting to build that list with Aaron. I've always had one as a secondary game plan for when he was in the game, but now that he's the primary quarterback, we'll start to tailor that toward him."

Since, the Packers have gone through an entire offseason program — individual workouts, organized team activities and the mandatory minicamp — honing the offensive concepts designed to emphasize Rodgers' strengths.

Even more than the coaching staff, the personnel department has embraced the post-Favre era. General Manager Ted Thompson has been eager to see Rodgers, his first first-round draft pick in Green Bay. He also restocked the position by using second- and seventh-round draft picks this year on quarterbacks Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn, respectively.
2. Let him go

The second option — cutting Favre — could become a reality if Favre insists he wants to play. There have been conflicting reports about whether Favre has asked for his release. One report said he has, and Thompson has denied it. Another said it has not come to that.

Favre has said several times in recent years he has no desire to play for another team, but that was during his playing days. Now, with the Packers seemingly interested in moving on, Favre could be open to that possibility.
3. Trade him

If the Packers aren't interested in giving him away, they could explore the third option — a trade. However, a deal could be difficult, especially if teams felt the Packers would have to release him anyway, and he could be had without giving up anything. Surely, Thompson would want a relatively high draft pick in return for Favre. But would a team give up, say, a second- or third-round draft pick for a player who probably has only a year or two left?

While playing elsewhere may seem appealing to Favre because he has an "itch" to return, the reality of how much work would be involved may make him reluctant to do that.

Those options also would leave Thompson with a black mark on his record, branding him as the man who allowed Favre to get away.
4. Convince him to stay retired

The fourth option — convincing Favre to stay retired — seemingly would be the best for the Packers. This way, they wouldn't come off as being the bad guys for driving Favre out of town and to another team, something that likely would anger a large portion of Packers' supporters.