BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – Brian Urlacher wasn’t the least bit surprised Tuesday when he learned that Brett Favre had agreed to come out of retirement for the second straight year and sign with the Minnesota Vikings.

“I don’t think there was any question he was coming back,” said the Bears middle linebacker.

Brett Favre and Brian Urlacher will get reacquainted Nov. 29 when the Bears visit the Minnesota Vikings.

“He’s a great competitor; he likes to compete, man. He’s going to go out there and give it his best every Sunday; you know that. He’s won a bunch of games, thrown a lot of touchdown passes and broken a bunch of records.”

Favre, who announced three weeks ago that he would remain retired, changed his mind again, signing a two-year contract with the Vikings on Tuesday. 

The three-time NFL MVP followed the same pattern a year early when he retired after 17 seasons with the Packers only to return to play for the Jets.

“I really thought he probably was going to come back anyway, so I’m glad the saga’s over,” said defensive end Adewale Ogunleye. “Now I guess everybody can rest.

“We know Brett Favre. We’ve played him a lot. He’s a hell of a competitor, a [future] Hall of Famer, and anytime you get to play against a guy like that, we’ll be up for it. We play him two times this year, so I’m excited. But I’m really just trying to focus on what we need to do to get better.”

The two NFC North clashes between the Bears and Vikings Nov. 29 in Minnesota and Dec. 28 on Monday Night Football in Chicago are suddenly a whole lot more intriguing.

“Anytime you play against him, the ticket requests go up,” Ogunleye said. “All of your friends want to come and watch the game. He’s just that kind of guy. When I have my own kids, I’m going to say that I played against Brett Favre.”

Favre owns NFL career records with 5,720 completions, 9,280 attempts, 65,127 yards and 310 interceptions. The 39-year-old also owns the league mark for most consecutive games started by a quarterback with 269.

Favre dominated the Bears for a decade before Lovie Smith arrived, leading the Packers to 18 wins in 20 meetings from 1994-2003. The tide turned, however, with the Bears winning six of eight games from 2004-2007.

Favre threw at least one touchdown pass in his first 26 games against the Bears before being kept out of the end zone in three straight contests beginning in 2005, when Chicago swept the season series from Green Bay for the first time since 1991, the year before Favre joined the Packers.

In his last six games against the Bears as a member of the Packers, Favre threw just 2 TD passes and 13 interceptions, three of which were returned for scores by Urlacher, Lance Briggs and Nate Vasher. In other words, Favre threw more TDs to the Bears than the Packers in that span.

While Favre has been criticized for waffling on whether he wants to stay retired, Urlacher can understand how difficult it would be to stop playing the game you love.

“If I play as good as he did when I’m his age, I wouldn’t want to walk away either,” Urlacher said. “I think if you’ve still got the ability, why not keep playing? I hope I don’t get in that situation where I hang it up and come back, but who knows? You never know if you’re going to be in that situation. Only he knows how he feels and what’s best for him.”