Jason Cole

Here is the biggest problem with what quarterback Brett Favre is doing with his never-ending vacillation over whether to retire:

He’s destroying the future for Green Bay.

As Favre turned his Saturday press conference into a joke, he also topped it with a soft-pedaled “I don’t know why you guys are even here” line. Nice way to treat the reporters who schlepped all the way from Wisconsin to Tunica, Miss., after you called the press conference.

But here’s the bigger issue: Favre is not just playing games with this season, he’s impacting the ability of the Packers to rebuild by not making it clear how they should play this season.

Should the Packers be in full-tilt rebuild? Or should they be in some in-between stage where they are trying to keep enough players around Favre to make the team competitive.

It’s an incredibly tough balance and not the way a player should act after he has gotten so much from his association with his team.

Sure, there is a reasonable argument on Favre’s behalf. Agent Kevin Poston, who does not represent Favre, came to Favre’s defense Sunday with a rhetorical question.

“Why is it wrong for the player to sit there and say, ‘What are you going to do with the team?’ ” Poston said. “Is this team going to be any good? You have to know …  When teams are trying to be good, they make a statement. They go out and get a player, like Green Bay did back in 1993 when they got Reggie White.

“What is Green Bay trying to do? Favre is right to ask.”

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Sure, it’s fair to ask, but it’s also fair in this case that Favre should either decide to be in or out. Favre has profited mightily from his relationship with the Packers, both financially and professionally. He won a Super Bowl and got to another one with Green Bay.

He has been put on a pedestal in a town that worships its heroes. As a star in Green Bay, the streets will be lined with gold for Favre as long as he lives. He will be a king there forever.

In return, he should have the decency to allow general manager Ted Thompson and new coach Mike McCarthy to make plans, one way or the other.

The Packers know that Favre isn’t going to play much longer, so they should be preparing anyway. However, there is a crucial decision to be made about the next quarterback.

Will it be Aaron Rodgers, the first-round pick from last year who looks like he could use some serious work? Or do the Packers try to take one of the top quarterbacks this year with the fifth overall pick? For instance, Thompson has a very high opinion of Texas quarterback Vince Young.

Thompson thinks Young is an incredibly special talent. Although Thompson isn’t sure how a team can use Young properly, it would be nice to know if he should make the investment this year or not because this is the type of decision that could impact the Packers for the next 10 years.

However, Favre isn’t thinking that way. He’s only thinking about himself and the coming season. He owes the Packers more than that.

Arrington talk
Speaking of Poston, who is one of the tougher negotiators in the agent world and has been oft-criticized by teams, he has the top three players still left in free agency in linebacker LaVar Arrington and cornerbacks Ty Law and Charles Woodson.

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Although Law and Woodson have age and injury issues that are factoring into talks with teams, Arrington is an intriguing case of a player who is theoretically in his prime but can’t get his price.

Arrington is 27, has been to three Pro Bowls and is still considered one of the top athletes among defensive players in the NFL. But many teams are looking at Arrington as a possible bargain player because of the 13 games he missed with an injury in 2004, the fact that he has only one sack in the past two seasons and the falling out he had with the Washington coaching staff last season.