How Brett Favre Almost Joined the Chicago Bears
Wait, Brett Favre in a Chicago Bears uniform? It could have happened back in 2008 when Favre was basically shown the door in Green Bay in favor of some guy named Aaron Rodgers. MMQB’s Peter King explains how Favre wanted to join the Bears in that tumultuous 2008 offseason when he divorced with the Packers:
"I’ll never forget a few things about that spring and summer of 2008. When Favre announced his retirement in March, it stunned the world. The Packers wanted a decision from Favre in March on whether he’d play in 2008, and if that decision wasn’t forthcoming, they were giving the job to Aaron Rodgers, who’d sat and learned the job behind Favre for three years. Favre wasn’t ready to commit, so he retired.A couple of months later I was washing my dog in my New Jersey driveway (true story) when my cell rang. It was Favre. I put down the soap and hose and talked to him. He said he was having second thoughts. Lots of them. He said he still wanted to play. He said he was thinking of asking for his release so he could play somewhere else. Chicago or Minnesota, maybe. I told him I didn’t think the Packers would release him so he could torment them from within the division. I remember saying to him that day he should think about all the kids with Brett Favre posters on their walls; they’d be heartbroken if he ever walked into Lambeau as a Bear or Viking. At the time he wanted to keep his ruminations quiet, because he was still thinking about what to do."
Back then, the Bears were mired in the midst of the quarterback clown car that spanned Brett Favre’s iron man streak. In 2007, the Bears split time at quarterback between Rex Grossman, Brian Griese and Kyle Orton. The 2007 Bears finished the season 7-9 while posting a 72.2 quarterback rating collectively. In 2008, the Bears were led to a 9-7 record by Kyle Orton who posted a 79.6 quarterback rating behind 18 TD’s and 12 interceptions. Meanwhile, Favre was traded to the New York Jets and led them to a 9-7 record while throwing 22 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. Favre would go on to join the Minnesota Vikings in 2009, the same year the Bears traded for Jay Cutler, and lead the Vikings to within an overtime of the Super Bowl.
Next: Top 10 Chicago Bears Quarterbacks
Another case of woulda, coulda, shoulda. You’ll recall the Bears almost had Kurt Warner, but a spider bite kept him from making the tryout.