5 NFL stars who came out of retirement ft. Brett Favre
The NFL world was given a fascinating bit of news this Christmas with a report that the New Orleans Saints tried to convince Drew Brees to come out of retirement. Such a move would not be unprecedented, but would still be surprising.
An NFL player deciding to retire usually means they come to that decision for a variety of reasons. But there are also grounds to return to the gridiron and chase glory once again. Here are five notable NFL stars who decided to come out of retirement.
5 NFL stars who returned from retirement
#5 - Brett Favre
Brett Favre is the most unique player on this list because his "retirement" did not last all that long. He announced his decision to hang up his cleats in March of 2008. That cleared the way for Aaron Rodgers to take over as the new franchise quarterback of the Green Bay Packers.
But then a funny thing happened. July rolled around and Favre stated his desire to return to the NFL. The media circus began as the Packers had already moved on with Rodgers under center.
After Brett Favre lost the 2007 NFC title game at home to the Giants, who had "he'll retire, unretire, be traded to the Jets, play there for a year, then sign with the Vikings" in their office pool? So don't dismiss any possibility at this point.
It became apparent that Favre was never ready to retire in the first place. But the Packers had made up their minds and had Rodgers in place as the future starter for years. There was just no more room for a veteran Favre anymore.
The situation was resolved when the Packers traded Favre to the New York Jets. He spent one season in New York, going 9-7, before spending two more years in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings.
Favre led the Vikings to the NFC Championship Game during the 2009 season, only to fall short in overtime. His career officially came to an end following the 2010 season that saw the Vikings struggle on the field and Favre deal with injuries.
#4 - Jason Witten
Jason Witten landed the best possible job upon his NFL retirement. He was placed in the Monday Night Football booth and seemed to have a long-term, cushy job in place. That lasted a total of one season due to bad reviews of his performance.
On the weekend it surfaced that Jason Witten is expected to retire, the Cowboys used the 137th selection in the fourth round on Stanford TE Dalton Schultz.
Witten retired as a member of the Dallas Cowboys following the 2017 season. Then came the announcing gig in 2018. Once that flopped, he returned to the Cowboys in 2019 and started all 16 games for the team.
Witten finished the year with 63 receptions for 529 yards and four touchdowns. It was a good year, but nothing spectacular. The tight end still believed he had more left in the tank so he signed a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders for the 2020 season.
He finished the entire season with only 13 receptions, and ultimately decided to retire again. Witten did so, rightfully, as a member of the Cowboys.