Luft’s Locker Room

With the likelyhood of Brett Favre becoming the 2009 Minnesota Vikings quarterback looking almost like the sure thing.  What happens to the competition between Tavaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels that will make both of them better and on an improved team that won 10 games last year, should easily pick up 2 or 3 more and repeat as NFC North champions?  They were to have the ability to establish themselves as a long (or longer in the case of Jackson) term starting quarterback.  It was looking to be one of the highlights of camp for many Vikings fans.

Now, with the return of Brett Favre to football after he made the decision to get shoulder surgery to disconnect the torn bicep tendon, he has only two obstacles to overcome before he decides to call his buddies, Brad Childress and Darrell Bevell and ask to play for them.

1.  If, for some unexpected reason, a relatively routine surgery doesn’t take (or he gets a staph infection).

2. If, as ESPN injury consultant Stephania Bell has said in this video, we come to find out there was more damage in the shoulder than just a tear of the biceps tendon as she suspects.

The recovery time is supposed to take 4-6 weeks, and it is reported that Brad Childress gave Brett a deadline to make his mind up whether he is healthy enough to play or not.  If he does, it looks like the competition is for backup, but that causes its own set of new issues.  Right now the Vikings presently have 4 quarterbacks on their roster:

1)      Tarvaris  Jackson

2)      Sage Rosenfels

3)      John David Booty

4)      Sean Glennon

Sean Glennon, UDFA from Virginia Tech has at best a shot to make the practice squad (and we don’t have to worry about the Chiefs seeing him in practice).

John David Booty, second year man from USC and firm #3 developmental guy is probably the luckiest of all the QB’s on the roster because I doubt the Vikings end up keeping 4 quarterbacks and with Tarvaris entering his last year of his rookie contract, and Sage pursued over two years but just signed him for backup money, he sits in a safer position than either of those two.

So if Brett Favre is #1 and Booty #3 who gets #2?  Would Tarvaris want it in hopes that Favre gets injured again and he can come in and replace him and win the job that way?  Do the Vikings try to trade TJack because he still has this year on his contract and they might get a little something in return?  Do you think that if Jackson does stay but doesn’t play, that he will re-sign next year when he is a free agent?  I don’t.  What do you do with the guy that took you 2 years to sign [at backup wages] and promised a shot at winning the starting job?  That means if Favre starts all season then retires you’re down to Sage only next year as a starter (unless you want to consider Booty that good) and he will have 1 year left on his contract, wanting starting money but with no game time proof that he can step up and be the guy.

The other options is if the Viking cut Booty and keep both TJack and Sage behind Brett, then at the end of the year the Vikes end up with a retired Favre, Jackson leaving for free agency and not looking back after being yanked twice from the starting opportunity, Rosenfels with one year on his contract and no backups on the roster (unless the Vikes keep 4 quarterbacks on the roster this year, probably unlikely).

All I wanted was an equitable competition in camp between TJack and Sage with the best QB winning.  Is Favre that much of an upgrade that the Vikings will now have work through all the points above?  Is it worth it for the short and long term health of the organization?  Will the fans get a new stadium from it?  I wish we knew.

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