Vikings' Leber Wants Quick Decision From Favre

Wednesday will mark one month since the Minnesota Vikings lost the NFC Championship Game in overtime to New Orleans. In that time, quarterback Brett Favre has been predictably silent, not offering any hints as to when he will decide on returning for another year in purple.

While the Vikings aren't about to put any public pressure on Favre, it makes sense that at least some teammates would like this drama to end.

After all, they watched (or experienced) this phenomenon when it happened in Green Bay a few times. Surely, many of them recognize it might not be that much fun.

The latest to comment on the drama-to-come is linebacker Ben Leber, who appeared on NFL Network Monday with Packers linebacker Nick Barnett.

"We would love to have the guy back," Leber said. "My gut feeling is that he is going to come back, and I hope that my gut is right.

"But I think a respectable timetable is to let us know as early as possible. With everything that we have, the ingredients that we have on this team -- [and] what we can hopefully do next year -- give us the time to maybe do something in the draft, whether it be trading picks or whatever, and getting somebody in.

"I think waiting all the way to the end is going to be detrimental to this team. I think he's going to make a decision quick, and I hope he does."

Good luck with that.

Favre is not likely to be in a hurry here. The Vikings aren't, either, and they shouldn't be. After all, Favre walked into their lives on Aug. 18 of last year, after training camp had officially ended, and still had one of the best seasons any quarterback could imagine.

Leber isn't wrong to expect a quick answer for the reasons he cites, but he's wrong to expect a quick answer in this situation. His organization showed great patience last year, and they were justly rewarded with two wins over the rival Packers, an NFC North title, and being within an eyelash of the franchise's first Super Bowl since the 1970s.

Why would you risk putting Favre in the same spot he felt like he was in back in 2007, when he retired for the first time? Just let him have his space. It's doubtful he would do anything to put the screws to a franchise that gave him (at least) one last great chance to make the Super Bowl.

Given what he did for the Minnesota franchise -- most importantly, he made them truly relevant in a state usually obsessed with hockey by the end of November -- in not even one full year of residency, you practically owe him that kind of courtesy.