23 years ago on this day, the Atlanta Falcons traded then-backup quarterback Brett Favre to the Green Bay Packers. From 1992 and then on, it changed the Packers franchise for the nearly the next two decades.
Many wonder what could have been if Favre stayed in Atlanta. They drafted him in the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft, but his snaps with the team were forgettable. He never completed a pass, and had a pair of picks in limited snaps with the team.
Favre, looking back at the trade, says he was "shocked" when he got the call about being traded.
"I was kind of shocked," he said. "I wondered if this was for real or a joke. He [Falcons offensive coordinator June Jones] said, 'I wish you the best. I enjoyed working with you. I hope you have a great career. This is a great opportunity for you.'"
It was Packers general manager Ron Wolf who made the deal, and he had been eying Favre for a while.
"I didn't know this at the time, but later on after I got to Green Bay, Ron had told me the story that he was going to draft me the year before with the Jets," Favre said. "I did know that [the Jets'] first pick was, I think the 33rd or 34th pick [in the 1991 draft]. They, of course, took Browning Nagle, but they wanted me."
Favre was the 33rd overall pick, while the Jets had the one right after at No. 34.
Wolf, who was then hired by the Packers, saw his Green Bay squad take on the Falcons in a late-season contest. There, Wolf made the decision that he would one day make a trade for the gunslinging QB.
"Little did I know that when Green Bay came down to Atlanta at Fulton County Stadium that he was there on the field to watch me throw," said Favre, who was the Falcons' third-string quarterback as a rookie. "Thank goodness he didn't look at my waistline and say, 'I'm not going after this guy.' He said when he left Fulton County, he was sure that's the guy he wanted to get. So his first order of business was to get a coach [Mike Holmgren], and his second order of business was to get me."
Favre recalled that Wolf's message to him on Feb. 11, 1992 was simple.
"He said, 'Look, I'm in the GM in Green Bay, and we just traded for you and I want you to know that we're very excited about having you and having you lead our team,'" Favre said.
Amazing story, and it makes you wonder what things could have been like for Favre he played his illustrious career in Atlanta.
