There are multiple reports that are pointing to progress being made in connection with talks regarding whether the Packers will trade quarterback Brett Favre.

Sal Paolantonio of ESPN has reported that the Packers and Favre are talking about trade parameters, with the team cognizant of the fact that the Packers can’t trade him to a new team without Favre’s approval.

Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports reports that Favre and the Packers talked about the situation in recent days.  The Packers apparently want to hold Favre until a team suffers an injury at the quarterback position.  Under this scenario, the team that loses its starting quarterback would then “assume the position,” as the Redskins did after defensive end Phillip Daniels tore an ACL in the first training camp practice of the year.

Cole’s source also makes the case for a team not having to worry about Favre learning the offense, since Favre basically flies by the seat of his pants, anyway. 

“Brett is a sandlot guy,” Cole’s source said.  “When [Mike] Holmgren was there, half the time he didn’t even run the play that Holmgren [called].  He just threw it where he felt like.  Go back to the Super Bowl.  That first touchdown pass to [Andre] Rison.  That wasn’t the play that was called.”

This portion of Cole’s story suggests to us that Cole’s source is Favre’s agent, Bus Cook, primarily since it smacks of the same reckless, short-sighted thinking that has plagued this entire effort to get Favre to a new team.  Does Cook (or whoever the source is) think it’s a good thing that Favre will “just throw it where he feels like”?  NFL coaches are control freaks, disinclined to say, “Let the quarterback do whatever in the hell he wants.”

The import of Cole’s report is that this could take a while, since the Packers think the only way to maximize trade value is to trade Favre to a team who has lost their starter. 

The end game in that case, however, is that the Packers might get nothing.  If they still are squatting on Favre’s rights when the regular season opener approaches and if Favre seeks reinstatement a day before the date on which salaries for vested veterans become fully guaranteed, the Packers will be faced with taking Favre back and owing him $12 million, or cutting him loose for nothing in return.