Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre announced on Saturday that he has nothing to announce – he still hasn’t decided whether he’ll retire or play a 16th season. But while the Packers’ front office won’t say it publicly, the team would be better off without their franchise quarterback.

Favre who will turn 37 this year, had the worst season of his career last year, and he will cost more than $10 million against the Packers’ 2006 salary cap. Coming off a 4-12 season and needing to rebuild, the best thing for the Packers would be to start the season by retiring Favre’s number and handing the starting job to last year’s first-round draft pick, Aaron Rodgers.

Television announcers continued to heap praise on Favre’s enthusiasm and love for the game in 2005, even though any other quarterback who threw 29 interceptions and lost seven fumbles while leading a last-place team would have been pilloried. Favre appeared to have lost his trademark confidence on the field, unable to will the team to victory as he had for so many years. At a news conference on Saturday he acknowledged that the Packers’ worst season had worn on him.

“When I left after last season, it was tough to be excited about football,” he said.”But football is in my blood. I love playing.”

But that love for the game might not be enough to make Favre want to stay with the Packers. The key issue in his decision, Favre said, is his desire to play for a team that he feels can compete for a Super Bowl. Although dramatic turnarounds aren’t unprecedented in the NFL, there is no reason to believe the Packers have a 2006 title run in them. Favre said Saturday that he doesn’t know if the team’s roster has improved this off-season, and he was skeptical of how any players the Packers choose in this month’s draft could help, saying, “I’ll be long gone before they make an impact.”

Still, despite his deteriorating skills, Favre would probably be a better player this year than Rodgers, who will need time to develop after throwing only 16 passes as a rookie. If the Packers’ only goal were short-term improvement, Favre would be the right choice at quarterback. New head coach Mike Mc-Carthy and general manager Ted Thompson hope to be in Green Bay long after Favre has retired, though, and they are more interested in the long-term health of the franchise than winning a few more games this year.

Favre might be able to pull it together enough for the team to double its win total from last year and finish 8-8, but a Favre farewell tour in which the team fails to develop its quarterback of the future is just another wasted year.

Favre hasn’t helped matters with his public comments this off-season.When the Packers made the reasonable request that he decide byApril 1 whether or not he’ll play next season, Favre sarcastically replied that if he delayed, “What are they going to do, cut me?” On Saturday, addressing reporters who gathered because Favre’s representatives led them to believe he would make a decision one way or the other, Favre said, “I don’t know why you guys wasted a trip down here.”

Of course, there’s nothing stopping the Packers from taking the decision out of Favre’s hands and cutting him. Thompson and McCarthy probably would love to do that, but they rightly fear a public relations nightmare would result from getting rid of a player who has been the face of the franchise for a decade and a half – the only three-time MVP in NFL history.

There is growing evidence, however, to suggest that a number of Green Bay fans would like to see Favre leave town. Fans commenting on Internet message boards and calling into talk radio have criticized Favre for holding the franchise back while he takes his time making his decision. An unscientific poll on the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Web site showed that 33% of respondents did not want Favre to return to the Packers. And the Green Bay Press-Gazette carried a Sunday headline reading,”Favre’s indecision weighs on fans.”

Perhaps sensing that public opinion is turning against him, Favre praised Packers fans on Saturday. “The fans have always been great to me,” he said. “I love the city of Green Bay. It’s been a wonderful place to play.”

Packers fans have always loved Favre back. But the 2005 season, when Favre finished dead last in the NFL in quarterback rating, and the 2006 off-season have strained that love. Former Packers tight end Mark Chmura, now a Milwaukee radio host, echoed the opinion of many fans when he called Favre “selfish” last week. Favre and Chmura were once close friends, but Favre severed contact with Chmura after Chmura was accused of sexual assault in 2000 (Chmura was acquitted in 2001.)

If Favre retires, the Packers will use some of the $10 million they save to pick up a veteran backup for Rodgers, but most of it would go toward rebuilding the offensive line and the secondary, unit as much in need of young talent as the quarterback position. No matter what moves they make, though, the Packers are unlikely to be a good team in 2006. About the only thing left for Favre to do is extend his record streak of 221 consecutive starts. But instead of hanging around for 16 more mediocre games, Favre would best serve the Packers by calling it quits.

Mr. Smith is a regular writer for FootballOutsiders.com.