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Bucs Never Had Shot At Favre

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By ROY CUMMINGS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 8, 2008

LAKE BUENA VISTA - The Bucs always had an interest in trading for quarterback Brett Favre. What they seemingly never had was a realistic chance to pull off a deal.

The Bucs came to that realization after the Green Bay Packers dealt Favre to the New York Jets in a trade late Wednesday in which Tampa Bay's biggest role might have been that of pawn.

"It was clear from the beginning they didn't want him going to a team in the NFC," Bucs general manager Bruce Allen said. "There was no negotiation. There was never any substantive talk about what they would take for him."

The Bucs might have played a role in that. Allen said the Bucs talked internally about what they might pay for Favre, but they never submitted an offer to the Packers.

That left the Jets as the only real suitor for Favre, whose saga ended precisely the way Allen thought it would - with Favre being dealt out of the NFC.

Despite that belief, the Bucs entered into the trade process anyway. The reason, Allen said, is the Bucs never pass on an opportunity to improve their team.

"We'll look at any type of scenario that can help the Buccaneers," he said.

"That is our No. 1 priority - helping this team. Whether it's a double trade, a triple trade or any form of that, we will always listen."

That willingness made Tampa Bay the favorite once it became clear the Packers would not release Favre or trade him within the NFC North. Several factors made it a good fit, including Coach Jon Gruden's West Coast offense, the coach's prior relationship with Favre and Tampa Bay's room under the salary cap for Favre's $12 million salary.

As late as Tuesday, Bucs officials thought they would land Favre.

Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum thought they would, too.

"My gut feeling for a long time was that this was not going to come to fruition," Tannenbaum said upon announcing the trade late Wednesday night. "I never thought it was alive."

It really wasn't.

Not until the Jets sold Favre on the idea of coming to New York.

Initially, Favre was reluctant to talk with Tannenbaum or any Jets official because he didn't want a second team to complicate his decision.

"If there was one team, and one team only, the decision was easy," Favre said at his introductory news conference Thursday. "... If I talk to him, them we're scratching our heads saying, 'Now what do we do?'"

In a phone call late Wednesday, Favre was convinced that playing for the Jets and living in New York was a good option.

The Bucs left the job of selling Favre on Tampa Bay to Gruden, who coached Favre in Green Bay in the early 1990s and has succeeded many times in wooing free agents to the Bucs. In this case, though, Gruden couldn't top the sell job done by the Jets.

"Jon Gruden did a good job of trying to sell me on the Buccaneers," Favre said. "But in the end I knew the Jets was the team for me."

Selling Favre was a major factor, because he had to sign off on the deal. Faced with the choice of joining a team that expressed a great deal of interest and one that showed little, he chose the former.

The price in the end was a 2009 fourth-round draft pick that could become a third-, second- or first-round pick if Favre and the Jets reach certain performance levels, Allen confirmed.

The Bucs were given a chance to make a counter-offer for Favre, but several media outlets reported the Packers wanted more from the Bucs than they did from the Jets. The request, confirmed by an NFL source, was for a player and a third-round pick that could become a first.

That was too rich for the Bucs, who already had a Pro Bowl quarterback in returning starter Jeff Garcia.

Throughout the Favre saga, the Bucs did not seem worried about the impact on Garcia, who on Wednesday referred to himself as "dead man walking."

Tampa Bay declined several opportunities to end the speculation by saying it wasn't interested in Favre. At one point, Gruden said such a declaration "wouldn't be fair to Brett Favre."

Allen took little ownership in that aspect of the process, saying he was powerless to control the speculation. The Bucs apparently got a kick out of it, though.

"I think if you went to our dining room you'd see a lot of people laughing about the speculation," Allen said.

It's doubtful that Garcia was laughing. He was going to lose either his job or his roster spot if Favre became a Buc.

Allen is convinced Garcia's play will not be affected by the saga and that he will retain the Pro Bowl form he showed a year ago when he helped lead the Bucs to the playoffs.

"Jeff is a great competitor," Allen said. "His No. 1 attribute is his competitive spirit. Nothing will change the competitive nature of Jeff Garcia."

Reporter Roy Cummings can be reached at (813) 259-7979 or at rcummings@tampatrib.com.

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