Brett Favre forces the issue with comeback

Somehow, this wasn't what the Packers had in mind.

Favre, who retired in March, has been reinstated and will be added to Green Bay's roster today. The latest indication is the Packers will make him Aaron Rodgers' backup for the moment with the intent of putting the starting job up for grabs.

That's only one scenario in a saga that seems to change minute by minute -- and it could merely be posturing by the club, which in the past has said emphatically that it is moving forward with Rodgers as its quarterback. The team resumes practice Tuesday.

"Frankly, Brett's change of mind put us in a very difficult spot," team President Mark Murphy said in a statement released by the team. "We now will revise many actions and assumptions about our long-term future, all predicated on Brett's decision last March to retire.

"As a result of his decision, we invested considerably in a new and different future without Brett and we were obviously moving in that direction. That's why this wasn't easy. Having crossed the Rubicon once when Brett decided to retire, it's very difficult to reorient our plans and cross it again in the opposite direction -- but we'll put this to our advantage."

Another possibility is Favre will accept payments from the Packers totaling more than $20 million to simply stay retired, eliminating the possibility of his winding up as quarterback of the NFC North rival Minnesota Vikings.

Or, the Packers could do the previously unthinkable and trade the 38-year-old star -- maybe even to the Vikings -- in exchange for draft considerations.

Both Favre and the Packers have tried to sway public sentiment in their direction. There is a strong possibility that Favre is reporting to training camp to either force a trade or sweeten the money-for-nothing offer already extended by the club. Meanwhile, the Packers might be calling his bluff by hinting he will stay on their roster, even if it means paying him his $12.7-million salary to hold a clipboard.

Whatever happens is likely to happen soon, considering the clock started ticking when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell granted Favre's reinstatement request Sunday.

In an interview with the NFL Network, Goodell said the time had come to "force it" by allowing the quarterback to officially come out of retirement.