He asked for his release from the New York Jets, not once but twice, before being granted the request.
He has been seen throwing the football with the local high school team in Hattiesburg, Miss.
And he recently went to see renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews to receive one more opinion on his ailing right (throwing) shoulder, trying to find a solution short of major surgery.
As for his motivation for making another comeback, Brett Favre wants to win, to be sure. But the quarterback also wants a crack (or two) at his former team. Specifically, Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson.
Last year, when Favre applied for reinstatement from retirement, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell -- who was responsible for the reinstatement -- saw the potential for a sour scene at Packers training camp and decided to reach out to Favre by phone.
According to sources, Favre explained to Goodell that he had no choice but to ask the Packers to come back in order to force his release if they wouldn't let him compete with Aaron Rodgers for the starting job in Green Bay.
Favre's intention was to be released and join the Minnesota Vikings, the Packers' NFC North rivals.
At one point, according to the source, Favre got passionate on the phone, telling Goodell, "He (Thompson) doesn't want me going to Minnesota because he knows I'll kick his ass twice a year!"
I'm told Goodell was amused at Favre's fiery competitiveness.
There's no doubt that Favre is attempting to make a second comeback, but it's still not close to being a done deal.
Assuming Favre's fire toward Thompson hasn't burned out -- a good bet -- he strongly desires to show the Packers' brass that it made the wrong decision in not letting him come back to Green Bay when he wanted. (Of course, he wanted it on his terms.)
A source tells me that during a handful of hours last year between Aug. 5-6 (Favre was traded to the Jets on Aug. 6), the quarterback was convinced he was going to be a Tampa Bay Buccaneer.
And it nearly happened. In fact, the Bucs were told at one point, "You've got him," only to be informed less than an hour later that Favre had been traded to the Jets.
During that time when Favre felt he was headed to Tampa, he got into a discussion with a friend about the possibility of wearing the pewter and red.
"Brett," the friend said, "you even get to play against the Packers in Week 6!"
"Week 4," Favre quickly replied, correcting his friend and showing that he already had memorized the date when he would have a shot at his old team.
That shot never came.
But it could this season with a clean bill of health, or at least one that allows Favre to play without much pain when he throws.
And you can bet that he already knows the dates of the 2009 Vikings-Packers double dip: Oct. 5 and Nov. 1.
Paging Dr. Andrews.
