The New York Jets released Brett Favre tonight, officially making the veteran quarterback an unrestricted free agent. It remains to be seen whether Favre will unretire, but he's free to sign with any team, including the Vikings, perhaps, although at this point there's no evidence to suggest that's a possibility. He says he's done with Football, according to the Newark Star-Ledger.

``Bus (Cook) and Mike (Tannenbaun) have been talking about this for a while,'' said Favre in a statement. ``Nothing has changed. At this time, I am retired and have no intention of returning to Football.''

Favre reportedly wanted to play for the Vikings last season, but the Green Bay Packers, who owned his rights at the time, didn't want to send him to Minnesota. They eventually traded Favre to the Jets and included a poison pill in the deal, stating that the Jets would have to give Green Bay three first-round picks if he were traded to Minnesota, Chicago or Detroit.

But that restriction is off the table now that Favre is a free agent. The Jets released him from the reserve/retirement list.

Cook, Favre's agent, also represents Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. The Vikings reportedly had some contact with the Denver Broncos about Cutler before he was traded to Chicago this offseason.

The Packers had accused the Vikings of tampering last offseason, alleging coach Brad Childress and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell had inappropriate contact with Favre. The NFL cleared the Vikings of the charge.

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