The Associated Press has learned that Brett Favre will return to the Green Bay Packers for the 2005 season.

Coach Mike Sherman told the A-P today that he had a two-hour
conversation with his quarterback Wednesday night in which Favre
informed him that his wife is doing well in her cancer treatment
and so he's planning on playing at least one more season -- maybe
more if his own health holds up.

Sherman says Favre's decision came down to how well Favre's
wife, Deanna, was doing in her recovery from breast cancer. Sherman
says Deanna wants her husband to play.

The three-time M-V-P said after the Packers' playoff loss to
Minnesota in January that he had some reflecting to do before
committing to playing a 15th N-F-L season following a year of
personal turmoil.

Deanna Favre was diagnosed with breast cancer in October, a week
after the death of her 24-year-old brother in an A-T-V accident on
the quarterback's property in Mississippi.

And Favre was still dealing with the stunning news of Reggie
White's death on the day after Christmas, which came a year after
the death of Favre's father, Irv, from a heart attack.

It never was a question of diminished ability because even at
35, Favre is still on top of his game. He topped four-thousand
yards passing last season and recorded his eighth 30-touchdown
season.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)