GREEN BAY, Wis. -- If Brett Favre is worried about getting booed when he returns to Lambeau Field -- which he claimed this week he is not -- Green Bay Packers president Mark Murphy perhaps sent a message to fans on Thursday when he essentially asked them to treat the legendary quarterback with respect whenever he returns.

That return still could happen this season.

"I'm very hopeful that when he does come back that he will be fully, fully supported by our fans," Murphy said Thursday following the team's annual shareholders meeting. "I'm confident in that. In terms of when he would come back, we've had ongoing discussions with him, very good relations. We are talking about bringing him back for a game this year. We had discussions last year about bringing him back for a game; those were not fruitful, but we're hopeful we can get him back for a game this year."

If Favre does come back this season, it would not be to have his jersey No. 4 retired. Although Murphy said he hopes to have that done before Favre is eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016, a return this season would only be to attend a game.

Murphy, who said previously this offseason that both Favre and the team were concerned about how he would be received upon his return, said he read Favre's most recent comments during his appearance Monday on ESPN 1000 in Chicago.

"I guess I'd say kind of stepping back from it, and you were all here, that was a very emotional time for the Packers," Murphy said, referring to the summer of 2008 when Favre unretired and was traded to the New York Jets.

"I think as time goes on, the emotions are passing and cooling down, I really hope, and I think we have the best fans. There's not anything close in terms of other fans across the league. I think they're going to look back and they're going to see the entirety of what he did, not just the last few years when he played for the Vikings. First of all, I don't know if there's, arguably the best or one of the best players in the history of the Packers. Probably had as big of an impact on the organization as anybody in the history of the organization."

Murphy also said he would like to see Favre go into the Packers Hall of Fame before he's inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, for which Favre is eligible in 2016. Former Packers president Bob Harlan, who is on the board of the Packers Hall of Fame, has been working closely with Favre on his induction.

"Bob and I have worked together on it," Murphy said, "particularly as it relates to his induction into the Packers Hall of Fame."