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Updated at 3:42 a.m. EDT Thursday, Aug. 7
Brett Favre is headed to the Big Apple. The Jets and Packers confirmed they had agreed to a trade for the future Hall of Fame quarterback.
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Brett Favre
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Terms of the trade hadn’t been made official, but early reports indicated that the Packers would get a conditional fourth-round draft pick that could escalate to as high as a first-round pick, depending on how much Favre plays and how well the Jets perform. According to NFL Network's Adam Schefter, the pick escalates to a third-round pick if Favre participates in 50 percent of the Jets’ offensive plays, a second-rounder if he plays in 70 percent of the plays and the Jets qualify for the playoffs, or a first-rounder if Favre takes part in 80 percent of the plays and the Jets reach the Super Bowl.
Besides the division rival Vikings, whom Green Bay didn’t want to deal with, the Jets and Buccaneers were the two teams believed to be most interested in trading for Favre all along. In the end, the Jets’ trade offer was reportedly better than the Bucs’.
Favre had expressed an interest in staying in the NFC North, but that option was the last choice of the Packers, for obvious reasons. In fact, according to NFL Network, the Packers inserted a poison-pill provision in the deal, which would require the Jets to surrender three first-round picks to Green Bay if they were to trade Favre to Minnesota.
Before acquiring Favre, the Jets had been expected to choose a starting quarterback from either Chad Pennington or Kellen Clemens, but the arrival of Favre will likely mean the departure of one of those two, probably Pennington.
Meanwhile in Tampa, the Bucs are counting on Jeff Garcia to be their starting quarterback, although Garcia has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with his contract. A calf strain is expected to sideline Garcia for the Bucs’ preseason opener.
As for the Packers, they are placing their hopes for 2008 and beyond squarely on the shoulders of inexperienced QB Aaron Rodgers, for better or worse.
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