Sources say Favre to Eagles very unlikely

Before Eagles fans start taping over their No. 4 Kevin Kolb Eagles jerseys with the letters "F-A-V-R-E," they should know the report that the Birds could possibly sign the swashbuckling, serially unretiring quarterback appears to have little legs.

Despite the improbability that Brett Favre would come out of retirement to back up Michael Vick, the scenario caused quite a stir late Saturday night and into Sunday after Howard Eskin of WIP-AM reported on NBC10 that the Eagles were interested in the 41-year-old.

Where Favre goes, drama usually follows.

But there is little chance he will end up here, according to team and NFL sources. An Eagles source characterized the likelihood of the Favre circus coming to town as the longest of long shots. Another team source said that a "lot of things would need to fall into place" for it happen.

One potential obstacle was cleared when Vick tweeted the following Sunday morning: "I would be honored to have Brett Favre as a backup. That will be amazing learning how to toy with defenses the way he did his whole career."

The post was removed from Vick's Twitter account. Comcast SportsNet caught up with Vick later in the day and asked him about the tweet, but he said with a smile that someone else must have written that on his account.

Perhaps Vick simply realized that endorsing Favre to Philadelphia was imprudent. Kolb is still an Eagle, even though a likely trade to Arizona once the lockout is over and free agency opens has become one of the worst-kept secrets in the NFL.

The Eagles will need a backup, of course, if Kolb is dealt. And Favre would be as good an option as most of the candidates on the market. Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck and St. Louis' Marc Bulger are probably the best fits among the free-agent field, but both likely will want to start.

The same probably applies to Favre, who would have to deflate his ego considerably to take a backup role. He may not even want to play football again after last season in Minnesota, when his consecutive-games-started streak came to an end.

But Favre may want one more shot at winning a Super Bowl, and coming to the Eagles would give him a chance to do it with head coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, two of his former assistant coaches in Green Bay.

Reid and Mornhinweg have talked glowingly of Favre.

There are many variables that would make it a difficult acquisition. Because of a lockout-shortened offseason and training camp, the Eagles will need to bring in a quarterback as soon as possible. Favre hasn't participated in a full camp in years.

And where Favre goes, distractions are sure to follow. It may even be too much for Reid, who has welcomed a distraction or two on the Eagles before.