Driver says Favre will retire, Favre's brother disagrees

[Nick]

Favre’s brother thinks Brett will return

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver said Tuesday morning that he believes quarterback Brett Favre will retire, but Favre’s older brother thinks just the opposite.

“Right now, if you ask me, I’d say I’m pretty sure that (Brett’s) coming back,” Scott Favre told the Green Bay Press-Gazette in a telephone interview Tuesday afternoon from Mississippi.

In an interview with Sirius NFL Radio Tuesday morning, Driver was asked if he thought Favre would return next season. “I don’t think so,” Driver said. “Everyone has been asking me that question. He’s a real close friend of mine and we’ve been talking back and forth, and I think he’s pretty much going to hang ‘em up. I always told him, if you’re coming back just because of that playoff game, don’t show up. But if you’re going to come back to try and win another Super Bowl, we’d love to have you.”

Driver made his comments from Jacksonville, where he was participating in a Super Bowl promotion. He appeared on “The Opening Drive” radio show with Dan Reeves and Chris Moore. Sirius is a satellite pay radio service.

According to Scott Favre, Brett is still pondering his future. “As far as I know Brett hasn’t made a decision yet,” Scott Favre said. “When he does, I’m sure he’ll handle it properly. Believe me, the Packers will be the first ones he’ll call.”

Neither Packers general manager Ted Thompson nor head coach Mike Sherman was immediately available for comment. The Packers public relations department issued a statement Tuesday afternoon: “Brett Favre has not given the organization any indication about his status for the 2005 season.”

Sherman said last month that he asked Favre following the team’s first-round Jan. 9 playoff loss to Minnesota to make a retirement decision prior to the start of NFL free agency on March 2.

Driver was asked whether he thinks Favre has made up his mind about retirement. “I think so,” Driver said in the radio interview. “I think he was trying to wait until the draft, and I think Coach Sherman wanted to know right before free agency because there are a couple of quarterback free agents that they want to look at if Brett decided not to come back. I think they forced him to make a decision. When you force one of the greatest quarterbacks in the NFL to make a decision, he’s pretty much going to let you know that he maybe is just hanging ‘em up.”

The 35-year-old Favre has played 13 seasons for the Packers and has started 205 consecutive games since 1992, an NFL record for a quarterback.