The NFL staff has identified plays or events that may have altered the course of history. Each Tuesday and Saturday throughout the offseason, we will be tackling a different scenario and speculate on how things might have gone differently.

Brett Favre recently announced he would return for a 17th season. Although the future Hall of Famer looks poised to retire a Green Bay Packer, he cannot boast of having spent his entire career with the same team.

After starting at quarterback for Southern Miss for four years, Favre was selected in the second round, 33rd overall, in the 1991 draft by the Atlanta Falcons. New York Jets general manager Ron Wolf had intended to take Favre, but the Falcons owned the pick before the Jets'.

Amazingly, Atlanta coach Jerry Glanville didn't approve of the drafting of Favre, saying it would take a plane crash for him to put the rookie into the game. Favre attempted only five passes his entire rookie season and promptly was placed on the trading block.

Wolf, who left New York to become the general manager of the Packers after the 1991 season, didn't hesitate, even overruling doctors who diagnosed Favre with the same degenerative hip condition that ended Bo Jackson's career.

Green Bay surrendered a first-round pick for the youngster, who became the starting quarterback in the third game of the 1992 season (Sept. 20, 1992) -- and has started every game since.

Favre is the only three-time MVP (1995-97) in NFL history and led the Packers to victory against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI. Today, it is difficult to imagine Favre in a different jersey, but it is also fair to wonder how his career would have unfolded if the Falcons had not traded him to Green Bay.

-- David Mosse

Mailbag: What if the Falcons had not traded Brett Favre? Send in your comments and we will post some of the best responses.