Jerry Rice: Bringing in Favre Could Backfire on Vikings

There's a feeling of inevitability that Brett Favre will be coming to Minnesota anytime now. But it's not hard to find people who are wondering why he's doing it. Add Jerry Rice to the list of naysayers, as the future Hall of Famer thinks that the Vikings would be better off sticking with the status quo.

"If they feel like bringing him in is going to get them to the next level, I think they should. But to be honest with you, I think the two guys with the team right now should be the two guys that they should be focusing on."

Rice seems to think that Favre is hanging on when it's time to hang it up. Of course it's worth noting that while Rice is the best wide receiver in NFL history, he did stick around long enough to go out with a wimper -- a 30 catch season split between Oakland and Seattle.

But Rice does have a point about Favre. If he doesn't play well, the Vikings won't really have a whole lot of options.

"Then everything backfires. You've got a major problem. Also you have to look at the scenario that happened in New York. If he pretty much distances himself completely from the players, then all of a sudden you're going to divide the players because a lot of the players are going to say, 'Hey, Tarvaris Jackson should be in here or Sage Rosenfels.' You don't want this to divide the team. So this could really backfire."

Maybe Favre will defy his age and play like he's 35, but if he doesn't he's unbenchable. So what happens if the Vikings find that Favre isn't the final piece they think he is?