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Favre: Packers should just let me go

MILWAUKEE — Brett Favre finally is speaking for himself: He wants to play but doesn't feel welcome in Green Bay, so he's asking to be released.

The quarterback's first substantial comments on his latest retirement decision reversal come in an interview with Fox News on "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren."

"OK, you guys have a different path, fine," Favre said, recalling a June 20 conversation with Packers coach Mike McCarthy. "What does that mean for me? So that means either you give me my helmet, welcome back, or release me, or attempt to trade me. We all know that's a possibility, but way-out-there possibility.

"And he says, 'Well, playing here is not an option, but we can't envision you playing with another team, you know, either.' And I thought, so basically, I'm not playing for anyone if I choose to come back."

According to Van Susteren, who spoke to the AP by telephone Monday afternoon, Favre said he was "never fully committed" to retiring and felt pressured by the Packers to make a decision, a notion Packers general manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy tried to dispel in an interview with the AP on Saturday.

"Ted always wanted Brett back," McCarthy said. "We always wanted Brett back."

The team had no immediate reaction to Favre's interview Monday.

"We currently have nothing to add on this matter," a team spokesman said.

Favre told Fox he understands that the Packers want to move on — but if they're doing so, they should let him go.

"Them moving on does not bother me," Favre said. "It doesn't. I totally understand that. By me retiring March 3, I knew that could possibly happen. All I was saying is, you know, I'm thinking about playing again."

Favre said he has thought about the ramifications of playing for another team, moving to another city, and angering some Packers fans.

"You know, the bottom line is, I may not play anywhere," Favre said. "But we have thought of all those things. We have thought about it."

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