Drew Brees gives surprising answer on being asked to return to Saints in 2021

Just one year after Super Bowl winning quarterback Drew Brees announced his retirement, his former head coach, Sean Payton, informed Saints brass that he will not be returning for the 2022 season.

Payton’s last season with the Saints certainly did not go as planned, given that he had to find a new man to quarterback the team. Following Brees’ retirement, the Saints were left in a bit of a debacle at quarterback. The franchise had several contenders but no clear-cut favorite; Payton ended up going with Jameis Winston, but Winston suffered a season-ending knee injury, leaving only Taysom Hill. Hill had played mostly as a quarterback in wildcat or other special formations, and he’s also been used in other positions. For one week, the Saints were so ravaged by quarterback injuries that Payton had to use practice-squad quarterback Ian Book in a Week 16 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

The injuries to Saints quarterbacks had gotten so out of hand that Payton actually revealed in his final Saints press conference that at one point, he called up Brees and asked if he’d like to make a return. In a recent appearance on The Dan Patrick Show, Brees revealed that he was actually quite close to accepting Payton’s offer towards the end of the 2021 campaign.

“Look, (football) will always live with us, alright? It will always live with us. I mean, look, if you told me right now — if one of these teams, something happened to the quarterback, and they said, ‘Hey, we need a quarterback to play. Can you come in and play?’ I’d play. I’d play in a second. You’re just wired that way,” Brees said. “I was very close to coming back and playing (for the Saints) for that one game. There were some other factors and other circumstances, but yeah, I think it will always live inside you, that fire. You’re just wired a certain way. I think you can flip the switch. So, you find other ways. That’s what’s hard about retirement, you have to find other ways to channel that competitive drive and that fire.”

Brees finished his NFL career with 13 Pro Bowl nods, one All-Pro selection and one Super Bowl ring, finishing with 80,358 passing yards, 571 passing touchdowns and 243 interceptions across 20 NFL seasons. When Payton raised eyes by admitting he nearly had Brees back for one game in 2021, NFL fans may not have been aware of just how close it was to happening.

Sean Payton reveals surprising offer from 2021 Saints season

Sean Payton told the New Orleans Saints brass on Tuesday that he will not return to the organization for the 2022 season, and in a subsequent press conference on ESPN, Payton provided some fascinating details from the Saints’ 2021 regular season.

Following the retirement of future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees, the Saints were left in a bit of a debacle at quarterback. The franchise had several contenders but no clear-cut favorite; Payton ended up going with Jameis Winson, but Winston suffered a season-ending knee injury, leaving only Taysom Hill. Hill had played mostly as a quarterback in wildcat or other special formations, and he’s also been used in other positions.

On Monday, Payton revealed that he actually gave Brees the opportunity to come out of retirement and return to the Saints in the 2021 season.

“I spoke to [Brees] at length last night about this decision for the first time and he was fantastic,” Payton said. “And I did call him during the season and we discussed him coming back. And I think both of us agreed, based on our lineup versus Miami it was a good thing he stayed [with NBC] and didn’t come.”

Needless to say, Brees denied the opportunity to return when the Saints’ quarterback room was ravaged by injuries, leaving only one practice-squad quarterback on the roster: Ian Book.

Book started in that Week 16 game against the Dolphins, but Payton’s team was unable to provide any protection; Book suffered eight sacks and threw two interceptions.