Brett Favre is inactive for the Vikings’ Monday night game against the Giants, bringing to an end his NFL-record streak of 297 consecutive starts.
Favre suffered a shoulder injury eight days ago when he was hit by Bills linebacker Arthur Moats, and he’s not ready to return. Although the Vikings were still holding out hope today that he could play, Favre’s shoulder was hurting badly enough that he never even took the field for pregame warmups.
Favre’s streak began in 1992, when he replaced an injured Don Majkowski for the Green Bay Packers. He kept playing every week for seven years until he had surpassed Ron Jaworski’s record for consecutive starts by a quarterback, then kept playing every week for another decade until he had surpassed Jim Marshall’s record for the most consecutive starts by any player at any position. He kept playing every week in Green Bay, in New York and in Minnesota. Until now.
Tarvaris Jackson will start for the Vikings tonight against the Giants.
The question now is whether Favre’s NFL career has come to an end. It’s possible that Favre’s shoulder will continue to bother him for the next three weeks, and that he won’t be able to return this season. Favre insists that he’s retiring after this season, and that unlike his past retirement announcements, he really means it this time.