"Imagine this: Brett Favre assuming the role that a 41-year-old with the rare opportunity of still being an active player in the NFL should actually fill.

The dots are easy enough to connect. Favre and Cam Newton have the same agent, Bus Cook. Newton is a raw talent in need of plenty of guidance to develop into the top-notch quarterback a lot of NFL personnel people think he can be. Favre is the senior-citizen quarterback who has never shown the ability to grasp the definition of "retirement."

So it wasn't a surprise to see it recently suggested in the St. Paul Pioneer Press that whatever team drafts Newton just might be inclined to acquire Favre to serve as some sort of "mentor."

Painful as it might seem to many, a legitimate case could be made for yet another Favre return. The potential for the lockout to eliminate offseason workouts and cause most or all of training camp to be missed is right in line with Favre's normal calendar between seasons. If we've learned anything, it's that, when it comes to quitting, you simply can't take him at his word."