Brett Favre Weighs In On Deshaun Watson Situation

While his day in the sun has come and gone, it’s hard not to think of Brett Favre when considering some of the greatest to play the game. Many compared Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes to Favre during the lead up to KC drafting Mahomes, and that comparison was fairly accurate. Favre, known for a schoolyard, make-lemonade-from-broken-play-lemons improvisation, led to some of the wildest SportsCenter highlights of the 1990s and 2000s. While he managed to keep his name in the press for years after he retired (the second time), Favre has been pretty quiet of late, except for the occasional commercial.

That ended yesterday.

Deshaun Watson’s agent, David Mulugheta, quickly seized the opportunity to put his name in the conversation involving two of the NFL’s greatest quarterbacks:

Let’s consider the source here. Mulugheta gets paid when Watson gets paid. No one (aside from Deshaun himself) stands to benefit more from DW4 taking his services to another team and (potentially) renegotiating a bigger contract or additional endorsements in the process. It’s certainly in Mulugheta’s self-interest to fan the fires of discontent with his client. In fact, we could make an argument that sports agents are a fan’s worst enemy. However, Favre really is throwing stones from a glass house.

As detailed on PFT, Favre might be the poster child for working over a franchise, with help from his golf buddy turned agent, Bus Cook.

So, basically, Favre says Watson should shut up and play but maybe he shouldn’t because maybe he’s right and things are different than they used to be and let’s see if the Texans give Watson the thing that he may or may not have a right to ask for.

Watson’s agent, David Mulugheta, simply thinks Favre should shut up. “Brett should probably stop throwing stones from that glass house he’s sitting in,” Mulugheta said on Twitter.

Mulugheta is right. Favre basically held the Packers hostage for several years with his incessant musings about retirement. Then, after he retired, he decided he wanted to play for someone other than the Packers. So he showed up out of the blue and forced a trade. He wanted desperately to be traded in the NFC North. The Packers refused, but Favre ended up in Minnesota after a season with the Jets.

So how is what Favre did in 2008 different from what Watson is doing in 2021? The only difference is that it took Favre a full year to get what he wanted.

Unfortunately for Texans fans, it’s like being the kids stuck in the middle of a messy divorce. We all just want mommy and daddy to get along, but a separation is clearly in play here. Just as in real life, the children are the ones who suffer the most.

Before the ink has dried on this one, other players are weighing in as well:

Acho, the former Texas standout turned Philadelphia Eagle, might not have the platform Favre has, but that doesn’t mean he’s wrong. Dez Bryant, the former Dallas Cowboys wideout with a far larger platform than Acho, spoke up as well.

While Favre has never been one to care what others think, he’s gotten himself in a pickle here. Especially with his history in Green Bay. Part of what soured Favre on the Packers was then Green Bay general manager Ted Thompson drafting Aaron Rodgers. In hindsight, it was pure genius on the Packers’ part, but bringing in their current quarterback definitely wrecked the relationship with their former one. Houston has no such luxury, with career journeyman AJ McCarron (if he’s re-signed) as the man waiting in the wings. To make matters worse for Green Bay, Favre eventually landed with the division rival Minnesota Vikings. When sifting through the Watson trade rumors, the Jacksonville Jaguars come up early and often.

With Favre weighing in on the Deshaun Watson trade drama, it’s just a matter of time before the national media finds ways to elicit commentary from other Hall of Fame quarterbacks, adding more fuel to the fire. Joe Montana? Steve Young? Peyton Manning? Get out your scorecard. This one ain’t over.