With Tiki on the Comeback Trail, Can Brett Favre Be Far Behind?

With Tiki Barber now on the comeback trail and labor negotiations dominating the NFL's weekly allotment of off-season sports headlines, you can just about hear the restlessness stirring down in Mississippi. Brett Favre has been out of the limelight since his Minnesota Vikings backed out of the 2010 season, and it's been eerily quiet on the No. 4 front. No ill-advised text messages. No congratulatory phone call to Aaron Rodgers. For heaven's sake, not even a much-anticipated gig on "Dancing With The Stars." If anything is going to bring Favre out of his apparent funk, it's the thought of some other gray ghost grabbing all of the geriatric headlines next season.

Luckily for Favre, there is a perfect storm brewing. Out in the Bay, the San Francisco 49ers have made all of the post-season news thus far, luring Jim Harbaugh away from Stanford. Now Harbaugh sits and waits for labor peace to reign across the land, but there will be more fireworks when Andrew Luck declares himself eligible for the supplemental draft and falls into San Fran's collective lap. Meanwhile, a seething icon lurks across the Bay, waiting for his opportunity to pounce.

Oh, how long has it been since Al Davis was able to bring in a washed up version of a true superstar to polish his tarnished Silver and Black? There was a day when seemingly every over-the-hill future Hall of Famer made his way to Davis' pasture, but even the allure of that fine tradition hasn't been able to entice the Kurt Warners or Marshall Faulks of this generation. Now, though, Davis can grab two geezers at once and bask in all of the disdainful glory that would come with signing Favre and Barber to head up his backfield.

And if he needs a little help on defense, maybe Davis can turn to one of Brett Favre's old buddies. After all, Michael Strahan still owes a debt of gratitude to Favre for that sack record the two orchestrated a decade ago.