Roughly five years after a messy divorce from the franchise that made him a household name, NFL great Brett Favre could be mending the fences again with the Green Bay Packers.
At a team event on Tuesday, Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy made some comments indicating that the Packers franchise is looking to bring back one of their all-time great players in some capacity.
"We want to have (Favre) back in the family," Murphy told FOXSportsWisconsin.com.
For what started as such a spirited union, it was certainly an ugly split between Favre, a former league MVP and Super Bowl-winning quarterback with the Packers who was traded to the New York Jets after the 2007 season.
Despite having led Green Bay to prominence during his 16 seasons there, towards the end, reports that Favre was feeling underappreciated surfaced repeatedly leading up to the trade. After Favre retired and unretired during the early months of the 2008 offseason, the Packers opted to go with Favre's backup, Aaron Rodgers, who would go on to win Super Bowl XLV for Green Bay in the 2010 season and a 15-1 record with a league MVP trophy of his own in the 2011 season.
However, signs have been showing that the icy enmity between Favre and the Packers is thawing. In February, Favre, now retired, joined Rodgers onstage as presenters during the NFL Honors Show.
"I thought it was good timing to just let the fans know, to let Brett know, let's move forward," Rodgers said on his radio show in February, as USA Today reports. "Let's heal things up and move forward."
Rodgers also discussed the importance of mending the bridges with Favre for the Packers in an ESPN Radio interview a few days after the NFL Honors program, according to NFL.com.
"It's important, I think, to make sure that he's recognized for all the accomplishments that he's achieved in our organization especially. He's still very dear to many of our fans for the things that he's done for the Packers on the field. You can never take that away."
The move could signal a reunion between Favre and the Packers, who, according to Murphy, would like to be able to retire the NFL legend's jersey, something that could be in the works for this season, if things continue to progress.
"I thought he and Aaron jointly presenting the Comeback Player of the Year Award was a great first step," Murphy said. "We're hopeful to have (Favre) back in the fold and get him back involved in the organization soon."