Mark Craig, For Sporting News
MANKATO, Minn.—First impressions from Vikings training camp Tuesday after the news broke that Vikings QB Brett Favre reportedly will retire rather than return for a 20th NFL season:
"I’m not a big hearsay person. I gotta hear it from the horse’s mouth."
— Coach Brad Childress
Jared Allen says he’d love to have Brett Favre back, but camp is too hard to think about anything else.
"I love Brett and he reserves the right to do anything he wants to do. We’d obviously love to have him as a teammate. We’d love to have him back. But until it’s official … I’ll believe it when I see it. Right now, we’re just going to focus on the guys we have here–just like we did last year, just like we did the year before. Camp is too hard to think about everything else that’s going on."
— DE Jared Allen
"You never know the situation. You really can’t think about whether he’s coming or not. You just have to take care of your part in case he does or in case he doesn’t. You can do the best you can. That’s all you can do. … Brett’s a great guy. I don’t want to take anything away from him. He’s a Hall of Fame quarterback. I learned a lot from him last year. Hopefully, if I get my chance this year, I can just keep going. … I just want to keep my same focus and continue doing what I’m doing."
— QB Tarvaris Jackson
"I heard something about it. I hope it’s not the case. I didn’t hear anything from him. So now, I have no comment on it. It’s all rumors to me."
— TE Visanthe Shiancoe
"As far as we know, it’s the same thing. We haven’t heard anything. He doesn’t call me. I do know we’re here working and trying to get better."
— DT Kevin Williams
"I just found out about it two seconds ago. Coaches told us there were some rumors swirling around. Sounds like that’s all it is. I really have nothing to say other than speculation right now. Nothing really has happened. We can’t speculate on ‘What if?’ All we can concentrate on are the guys who are here. That’s all we can do."
— LB Ben Leber
"I hope to see him in a couple of weeks, but I mean the sun is going to rise tomorrow and we’re going to have football, whether Brett is here or not. We want him back, but 20 years, he deserves the right to do what he wants with it. Obviously, timing issues will be a factor, whether he’s coming or not. But right now we have Tarvaris (Jackson) and Sage (Rosenfels) working. Everybody else is working. We played football without him once before. If we have to do it again, we’ll do it again."
— DE Jared Allen
"I don’t have a reaction. I haven’t talked to Brett. I’ll try to give him a call today. I’d rather here it from the horse’s mouth than you guys (in the media). I really need to talk to him first."
— QB Sage Rosenfels
"Football is the ultimate team game. Brett played great last year. Whoever plays quarterback this year will have to play great. Quarterbacks always have to play great for a team to be successful. So whoever is in there is going to have to play great football."
— QB Sage Rosenfels
"It’s been three years now being asked Brett Favre questions. It’s kind of a part of my life now. I actually might miss it. It’s his decision. I’ll just come out here and try to get better."
— QB Tarvaris Jackson
"Hopefully (confidence) is high. I believe in my teammates. Hopefully, they believe in me. I want to come out here every day and work hard to try and get better. When the season starts and if I’m the guy I’ll be in there working hard each week, every day trying to be that guy who helps get the team going."
— QB Tarvaris Jackson
Mark Craig, For Sporting News
MANKATO, Minn.—First impressions from Vikings training camp Tuesday after the news broke that Vikings QB Brett Favre reportedly will retire rather than return for a 20th NFL season:
"I’m not a big hearsay person. I gotta hear it from the horse’s mouth."
— Coach Brad Childress
Jared Allen says he’d love to have Brett Favre back, but camp is too hard to think about anything else.
"I love Brett and he reserves the right to do anything he wants to do. We’d obviously love to have him as a teammate. We’d love to have him back. But until it’s official … I’ll believe it when I see it. Right now, we’re just going to focus on the guys we have here–just like we did last year, just like we did the year before. Camp is too hard to think about everything else that’s going on."
— DE Jared Allen
"You never know the situation. You really can’t think about whether he’s coming or not. You just have to take care of your part in case he does or in case he doesn’t. You can do the best you can. That’s all you can do. … Brett’s a great guy. I don’t want to take anything away from him. He’s a Hall of Fame quarterback. I learned a lot from him last year. Hopefully, if I get my chance this year, I can just keep going. … I just want to keep my same focus and continue doing what I’m doing."
— QB Tarvaris Jackson
"I heard something about it. I hope it’s not the case. I didn’t hear anything from him. So now, I have no comment on it. It’s all rumors to me."
— TE Visanthe Shiancoe
"As far as we know, it’s the same thing. We haven’t heard anything. He doesn’t call me. I do know we’re here working and trying to get better."
— DT Kevin Williams
"I just found out about it two seconds ago. Coaches told us there were some rumors swirling around. Sounds like that’s all it is. I really have nothing to say other than speculation right now. Nothing really has happened. We can’t speculate on ‘What if?’ All we can concentrate on are the guys who are here. That’s all we can do."
— LB Ben Leber
"I hope to see him in a couple of weeks, but I mean the sun is going to rise tomorrow and we’re going to have football, whether Brett is here or not. We want him back, but 20 years, he deserves the right to do what he wants with it. Obviously, timing issues will be a factor, whether he’s coming or not. But right now we have Tarvaris (Jackson) and Sage (Rosenfels) working. Everybody else is working. We played football without him once before. If we have to do it again, we’ll do it again."
— DE Jared Allen
"I don’t have a reaction. I haven’t talked to Brett. I’ll try to give him a call today. I’d rather here it from the horse’s mouth than you guys (in the media). I really need to talk to him first."
— QB Sage Rosenfels
"Football is the ultimate team game. Brett played great last year. Whoever plays quarterback this year will have to play great. Quarterbacks always have to play great for a team to be successful. So whoever is in there is going to have to play great football."
— QB Sage Rosenfels
"It’s been three years now being asked Brett Favre questions. It’s kind of a part of my life now. I actually might miss it. It’s his decision. I’ll just come out here and try to get better."
— QB Tarvaris Jackson
"Hopefully (confidence) is high. I believe in my teammates. Hopefully, they believe in me. I want to come out here every day and work hard to try and get better. When the season starts and if I’m the guy I’ll be in there working hard each week, every day trying to be that guy who helps get the team going."
— QB Tarvaris Jackson
