Childress Says Favre Is “Pain Free”

The quarterback who has become a major pain in the ass for many a football fan apparently no longer has any pain in his arm. Vikings coach Brad Childress, speaking with Dan Barreiro of KFAN on Friday (via the Minneapolis Star Tribune), said that quarterback Brett Favre’s right arm has healed after undergoing surgery last month. “My understanding is that he is pain free right now,” Childress said. “Does he have the endurance and the stamina in that arm yet? He doesn’t know that yet. It’s no different than grabbing a golf club for the first time during the year when you rip around 18 holes around and you wake up the next day and your side hurts. You say, ‘Geez, I haven’t felt that muscle in a while.’ [Editor’s note: That’s what she said.] So he’s got to build some endurance in that and see if he thinks he can get it back to where he wants to get it to.” But with all signs pointing to Favre being a member of the Vikings in 2009, Childress isn’t ready to declare that the future Hall of Famer will be joining the squad. “There is a little bit of time here,” Childress said. “It’s not a foregone conculsion that he will be here.” Though Childress wouldn’t have been foolish not to characterize the situation in that way, the reality is that, with Favre, there’s never a foregone conclusion. For the past two years, Favre has done the opposite of what most of us thought he would do. Moving forward, the biggest remaining hurdle isn’t Favre’s arm but his contract. Surely, agent Bus Cook will want a lot more money than what the Vikings will want to pay. Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune recently explained that the Vikings want to give Favre an incentive-laden deal. Whether the two sides can bridge the likely gap between Favre’s opening demand and the team’s first offer remains to be seen. If they can’t, Favre won’t be a Viking, even if he can throw the ball farther than Uncle Rico. (The real one, not Vince Young.)