Packers Charge Vikings With Tampering

This is a new twist on one of the NFL's more interesting division rivalries.

The Green Bay Packers, mired this week in the most undesirable of soap operas, have fired a shot at their border rival Minnesota Vikings. FOX Sports NFL guru Jay Glazer reports the Packers have charged the Vikings with tampering.

According to the story, the Packers' allegation centers around Minnesota offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, who they say had "inappropriate dialogue" with retired (at least, I'm pretty sure he's retired as of this writing) quarterback Brett Favre. Bevell was a quarterbacks coach in Green Bay at one time, and is still a friend of Favre's. Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio beat the world to the punch on this one, reporting earlier today that the two may have talked and that the talks may have crossed the line into what the NFL defines as tampering.

Remember, despite his retirement, Favre remains property of the Packers and is not a free agent. He is not permitted to speak about a potential job with any other NFL team without permission from the Packers. To our knowledge, this permission has not been given to Favre, his agent, or any NFL team. Any conversations of this nature that take place (like the alleged Bevell-Favre chat) would qualify as tampering.

It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure out that one of the reasons Favre has been so adamant about being released is that he wants to play in Minnesota. The Packers would never trade him there, but it stands to reason they'd trade him just about anywhere outside of the NFC North. Therefore, Favre's only shot of getting to play with the Vikings is to become a free agent.

The odds of that happening took a tremendous hit with this news. General manager Ted Thompson may be inclined to appease Favre and release him at some point. But he'll never do it if he believes Favre has already talked shop with a chief rival.

For their part, Glazer says the Vikings are denying the allegation. He says the league is investigating, and has already gotten Green Bay's side of things.

If the Vikings are eventually found guilty of tampering, they could lose one or more draft picks and/or face fines from the league. You may recall that the 49ers got nailed for tampering in a case involving Bears linebacker Lance Briggs earlier this year. San Francisco lost one pick and had to swap another for a lower pick in the same round. Oh, and Briggs re-signed with the Bears.

Legends in Strange Uniforms

For Packers fans, the thought of Brett Favre in another uniform must be excruciating. For the rest of us, it's just plain odd. But he wouldn't be the first icon to don a strange-looking uniform late in his career.

Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images

Joe Namath and the glitz of Hollywood! It seemed like a perfect match. Unfortunately for the Rams, Joe's knees were shot when he moved to La-La Land in 1977. Namath only played in four games before calling it a career.

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Being a part-owner of the Wizards wasn't enough for Michael Jordan. When his competitive juices would not stop flowing, he suited up with Washington and played two good, but far from great, seasons.

Jesse D. Garrabrant, NBAE / Getty Images

After a long stint with the Giants in San Francisco, Willie Mays came back to New York in 1972. But this wasn't what any fan wanted. He produced little for the Mets and left many thinking he had stayed around too long.

After retiring from the Red Wings, Gordie Howe returned to the ice for seven more seasons, the last three with the Hartford Whalers. He was 52 when he finally hung up his skates.

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Babe Ruth is synonymous with the Yankees. Even their stadium is called "The House That Ruth Built." So it still comes as a shock to see the Bambino donning a Boston Braves uni in 1935 as his career ended with a whimper.

Not every team switch by an icon has a sad ending. Joe Montana enjoyed two productive seasons with the Chiefs after leaving the 49ers and almost took K.C. to the Super Bowl in 1993.

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