Former teammates react to Favre's return
Six years have passed since Brett Favre's messy separation from the Green Bay Packers, and six former teammates with front-row seats of the break up still remain in today's locker room.
Four of those players – cornerbacks Tramon Williams and Jarrett Bush, fullback John Kuhn and kicker Mason Crosby – each took a few minutes to reflect on Sunday's announcement that the three-time MVP quarterback will be inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame and have his No. 4 jersey retired in 2015.
Here are a few highlights of what they had to say.
Mason Crosby
On Favre's return:
"Obviously, for me, he's always been a Packer, growing up and watching him play here and all those things. It's good that it's happening and he's going to be enshrined here in Green Bay."
On the separation:
"I just think it was going to be a little bit of time. He went on to play with some other teams and it took some time to kind of move past all of that and realize that he was a Packer for, what, 16 years, and this is where he played his whole career and this is where he set all of his records. This is where he obviously needs to go into the Hall of Fame."
On the Minnesota/Green Bay games:
"They were always exciting. We don't like losing to the Vikings; that wasn't good. I do think that it was kind of part of the game. You don't want to see guys that have been in one place for a long time go other places and do well and come back beat their old team. That made those games have a little more weight on them, made them a little more exciting. For now, though, it seems like a long time. It's good that it's all behind us and everyone can move on."
On it being a circus:
"You've got to give Aaron a lot of credit for going out and working hard and being a professional and taking over the team and making sure he goes out and works hard and being a good teammate. I give Aaron a lot of credit for that summer. There were a lot of mixed emotions on what was going on. He did a good job of moving forward. It's all history now. He's done a great job and really taken over this team."
Tramon Williams
On Favre's return:
"Obviously Brett meant a lot to the people here. Obviously the ending to his career with him going to Minnesota and those things are going to stick with some people. But he's done too much for the organization and everyone in the community, it's a good thing that they decided to do this now. I think everyone's going to applaud him. Obviously you hope that he doesn't get boos, but I think everyone is going to applaud him. He was a great teammate, first of all. When I was here, great character guy. Obviously he's been through a lot, but I'm glad to see him do this now."
On his memories of Favre:
"Obviously Brett is a fun guy at practice. First of all, he comes to practice, he doesn't miss any days, but while he's out there practicing he makes it fun; clowning around with a young guy like me, patting me on my butt real hard, doing things like that. Acting like the ball is in the air coming at you. He's just done so many things that kind of got you feeling like, 'OK, this is a great place.' That's the type of things that he did."
On playing against him:
"You know what, when I first played him, when he came to Minnesota, I felt that that was the first time that I realized, 'OK, this is what a great quarterback is.' He came in and he played well. That's the first time and I sat back and was like, 'This is what a great quarterback is.' For me to experience that, it was awesome."
On where Favre ranks among all-time Packers greats:
"He's the last great who I played with. He's definitely top 5. Easily. In my book. Obviously you've got some other guys that I played with, Charles would go up there, too. I can't pinpoint a number, but he's definitely top 5. Maybe top 3."
Jarrett Bush
On his reaction:
"He's obviously one of the greatest quarterbacks to play in a Green Bay Packers jersey. It was just a matter of timing. When the organization and him himself were able to come to an agreement. I can't say enough about Brett, ol' No. 4. I'm glad to have him back and kind of solidify his greatness in the hall of fame."
On what kind of reception he'll get:
"For him to play 16, 17 seasons or however many seasons he played, and he gave it his all. Even towards the end of his career, you know he gave everything he got. Hurt, sleet, snow, ice, he was going ot give it 110 percent. And that's all you can ask for each player as a man and he did a tremendous job. He holds so many records here and in the NFL, so definitely it'll be a very warm welcome. … I feel like some people will cry, that's how I feel, some people are so passionate about No. 4 and Brett Favre."
On how things ended in Green Bay:
"I feel like some people say he didn't go out with a lot of class, but at the end of the day, he was just trying to play football. as any guy trying to provide for his family, he felt like he had more energy in the tank. And he wanted to play the game. You can't knock him for that. But at the same time, Brett Favre, he did it for so many years here, and you have to accept that. As a fan, as a player, and you've got to give him your applause for that."
On how locker room handled Favre saga:
"The locker room, I thought, was fine. Obviously we knew the transition they were trying to make, and we just knew that both quarterbacks could play. It really didn't matter which quarterback was in there, we knew 12 could play as well as 4, Favre. It was their decision, and they stuck by it. At the end of the day, we needed to win football games, and if that was the best decision for them, that was the best decision."
John Kuhn
On his reaction to news:
"I think it's cool, he's a great guy that played for some really memorable teams and played obviously for a long time. He holds a bunch of records and he's involved in a whole history of Packer time, and it's a good thing that they're going to get it done."
On games against Favre:
"They were intense. They were a lot of fun. He wanted to win because he had something to prove and we wanted to win because we had something to prove. He got us a couple of times, but we got them, too. They were very good competitions, and it was fun to play in those games."