Brett Favre's surgically repaired arm has healed, but he remains uncertain whether -- at nearly 40 years old -- he can withstand the rigors of a 16-game season. That's the crux of Ed Werder's latest report on Favre's status with Minnesota now a week away from opening training camp.
I'm still guessing that Favre ultimately will play, especially as Vikings players continue to encourage him to join them. But this latest twist offers an interesting question: Is Favre setting up a later-than-expected arrival at camp?
Favre, after all, said last month that he knows the Vikings' offense so well he could "teach it." And let's face it: After 18 NFL seasons, do you think he really wants to spend two weeks in a cramped dorm room? Green Bay players also live in dormitories during camp. But their location in nearby De Pere, Wis., allows players some feeling of normalcy. Favre would get none of that at the Vikings' site in Mankato, Minn., about 90 minutes south of the Twin Cities.
Favre's last off-site training camp came in 1991 while he was a rookie in Atlanta. It's an experience that few veterans relish, and Favre might be in position to skip part or all of it if he wants.
Whether the Vikings would continue to pursue him is another question. But they're already so far down the road with Favre that they have little choice but to continue until a (potentially) bitter end. As Werder pointed out, having players recruit Favre does little for their relationship with current quarterbacks Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels.
Stranger things have happened. But in either event, it seems likely we won't have a public resolution this week.
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Kevin Seifert
Seifert joined ESPN.com in 2008 after covering the Minnesota Vikings for the Minneapolis Star Tribune for eight years. He lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and daughter.