Associated Press
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. ó Eventually, the Minnesota Vikings will need to know: Is Brett Favre going to play or not?
The Vikings aren’t showing any public impatience with the NFL’s all-time leading passer, even though Favre’s annual waffling over his retirement continues to cloud preparations for the season. Training camp starts in seven weeks.
“You have it lingering over your head, all day every day,” tight end Visanthe Shiancoe said. “Every time you turn on the TV, you see Favre, or you see something about Favre, or you see something about his shoulder, or you see him working out at the high school.
“You want to know what’s going on, but at the same time that’s something that we can’t control so we leave it alone,” Shiancoe said.
Even the uncertainty at quarterback ó will it be Tarvaris Jackson, Sage Rosenfels or Favre? ó isn’t enough to get coach Brad Childress to declare an end to the will-he-or-won’t-he dance that’s gone on for weeks.
“Do I need clarity on it? Again, it’s hard to speculate,” Childress said, reiterating Thursday he had set no deadline for Favre to decide.
In his fourth year in charge of the Vikings, Childress has a well-established reputation as a no-nonsense, detail-driven coach.
But Childress hasn’t come close to suggesting Favre make up his mind soon. Asked if Favre can still be a great quarterback, the coach said this: “Don’t know. Don’t know. Stay tuned.”