New Orleans Saints legendary quarterback Drew Brees is considering retirement again, much like he did last offseason, but is widely expected to call it a career after the Saints were eliminated by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their NFC Divisional Round matchup on Sunday.
Brees, 42, threw three interceptions in a playoff game for the first time in his career, and looked off on the majority of his throws on Sunday, and the Bucs moved on to the NFC Championship game.
“I’m gonna give myself an opportunity to think about the season, think about a lot of things, just like I did last year, and make a decision,” Brees said, according to ESPN’s Mike Triplett.
Brees stated how he did not regret coming back this season, opting to return for another season rather than retire following the 2019 season.
“I would never regret it. Never,” Brees said.
“No complaints. No regrets. Man, I’ve always tried to play this game with a great respect and a great reverence for it. And I appreciate all that this game has given to me,” Brees said.
“There are obviously so many incredible memories, so many incredible relationships that have come as a result of playing this game. And, man, you find out so much about yourself and you have to fight through so much when you play this game” he continued.
“And I’d say this season, I probably had to fight through more than I’ve ever had to in any other season in my career — from injury to all the COVID stuff to just crazy circumstances. And it was worth every moment of it. Absolutely.”
Now the Saints are in waiting mode as Brees will take some time to come to a final decision regarding his future. If the future Hall of Famer does decide to hang up his cleats, he will close the book on a truly legendary career.
“Oh, listen, I think that’s probably for another press conference,” Saints head coach Sean Payton said. “That would take up all of my time on your question tonight. Obviously, he’s been tremendous for this team, this city; I could go on and on. But let’s wait and answer that at the right time.”
