- Drew Brees retired after the 2020 NFL season.
- The former New Orleans Saints’ QB says that he’s unlikely to consider a comeback.
- Brees is beginning a broadcasting career with NBC and has entered into a promotional relationship with PointsBet.
While the New Orleans Saints try to decide on their starting quarterback during the NFL preseason one scenario is extremely unlikely–a Drew Brees comeback. The 42 year old Brees retired after the 2020 NFL season leaving the New Orleans Saints’ quarterbacking duties to either Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill. He’s got a lot on his plate–a broadcasting gig with NBC and a brand ambassador deal with PointsBet–but at this point it looks like a NFL comeback is extremely unlikely.
Brees says that he’s excited to pursue ‘other passions’ that weren’t possible during his playing career:
“I have been preparing for the next chapter, I’m excited about it. There is a feeling of gratitude and appreciation for all that the game gave me. I still have a chance (at NBC) to be connected with the game and stay involved, but I am excited to be able to pursue some other passions that I haven’t been able to up to this point.”
He’s also enjoyed some sports that were off limits due to his NFL contract:
“I went skiing for the first time in 25 years. Like riding a bike, it came right back.”
What about a scenario in which he comes to back to the Saints or another team in desperate need of a quarterback due to injuries? Don’t count on that happening for a number of reasons, the most significant being physical:
“There is a saying that if you don’t use it, you lose it. That’s the truth, my arm is killing me because I haven’t been training to throw. I actually feel worse now than at any other point in my career. I may have one throw, one series, one drive.”
As for his previous team, he speaks highly of both candidates for the Saints starting quarterback job:
“Both guys have such a love for the game … and you can see it in the way they play. Taysom has an infectious love for the game. There is not a guy who is more respected for that and for what he brings to the team. Jameis was such a joy to be around. He also loves the game and loves to work at it. You can tell that football consumes his thoughts. He wants to be a great player and continue to improve. Whatever happens, in terms of whoever is the starter, I do think there is a scenario where both of them are playing. If Jameis is the starter I think Taysom is seeing a lot of action at quarterback, maybe even more so than he did with me.”
Brees might be optimistic about the Saints’ future without him but the NFL betting markets are significantly less so. Prior to the 2020 NFL season, the Saints were a +1000 choice to win the Super Bowl–tied with San Francisco and Tampa Bay. The current price at BetOnline.ag has New Orleans as one of three teams at +2800 (Denver and Tennessee are the others) behind 12 other betting interests. The same dynamic is at play in their season win total–last year, New Orleans’ O/U win total was 10.5. The current price at BetOnline.ag has the Saints’ win total at 9 OV -125.
