Favre traded to Jets

GREEN BAY, Wis.—The month-long saga of Brett Favre’s unretirement ended last night when he was traded by the Green Bay Packers to the N.Y. Jets.
The Packers had been talking with the Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers since deciding earlier this week that they no longer could co-exist with the player who won a Super Bowl and three MVP awards in 16 years with the team.
Terms of the trade weren’t immediately available.
The Packers decided to move forward with Aaron Rodgers as their starting quarterback after Favre announced his retirement in March.
Given their commitment to Rodgers, team officials weren’t particularly receptive when Favre decided a little over a month ago that he might want to play after all—the latest development in several years’ worth of flip-flopping about his football future.
“Brett has had a long and storied career in Green Bay, and the Packers owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude for everything he accomplished on the field and for the impact he made in the state,” Green Bay officials said in a statement.
“It is with some sadness that we make this announcement, but also with the desire for certainty that will allow us to move the team and organization forward in the most positive way possible.”
Jets’ chairman and CEO Woody Johnson issued a statement early today.
“I am looking forward to seeing Brett Favre in a New York Jets’ uniform,” Johnson said. “He represents a significant addition to this franchise, and reflects our commitment to putting the best possible product on the field.”
The agreement was first reported by Fox Sports on its website.
“We just felt like this was an opportunity to go get somebody of Brett’s stature and what he’s accomplished,” Jets’ general manager Mike Tannenbaum said during a conference call early this morning.
“We felt it was in the best interest of the team and when the opportunity presented itself, we felt it was the right move for us to make and we went ahead and did it.”
A number of fans made it clear throughout training camp that they wanted Favre on the Jets with signs and “Get Brett!” chants. Favre’s new No. 4 Jets’ jersey already was for sale on the team’s website about an hour after the trade was announced.
Tannenbaum, who said he had a “good” conversation with Favre, wouldn’t speculate whether the quarterback will play in New York beyond this season.
“We had discussions with him and his agent, Bus Cook,” Tannenbaum said. “And we’re going into this and we’re going to take this one year at a time, and we’re excited to have Brett on the team this year.”
The arrival of Favre signals the end of Chad Pennington’s career with the Jets. Tannenbaum said there would be another transaction regarding Pennington, who spent his first eight seasons with the Jets.
“It’s a bittersweet moment for us,” Tannenbaum said. “I have all the respect in the world for Chad as a person, as a player. We’ve accomplished a lot of good things with Chad. . . .
“He gave his heart and soul to this organization for a long, long time. I really appreciate everything he’s done.”
The 38-year-old Favre holds most major NFL passing records and led the Packers to the NFC Championship last season, where they lost to the N.Y. Giants.
Favre threw what would prove to be the decisive interception in overtime.
The Jets went into training camp with an open competition between Pennington and Kellen Clemens after neither established themselves during a 4-12 season a year ago.
Pennington was 1-7 as the starter and was benched midway through the season. Clemens went 3-5, but Pennington actually had the better season statistically.