Drew Brees apparently thought about coming out of retirement to play for the Denver Broncos in the playoffs last season when Bo Nix got hurt.
Or at least, there was some kind of discussion between Brees and his former head coach from the New Orleans Saints who is now with Denver, Sean Payton.
It’s a fascinating rumor reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday night:
“After the Denver Broncos lost starting quarterback Bo Nix to a fractured ankle in their overtime playoff victory against the Buffalo Bills, Denver’s then-offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and offensive assistant Pete Carmichael had discussions with Brees about the former star quarterback coming out of retirement to be ready for the AFC Championship Game, sources told ESPN.”
Brees was 47 years old at the time of the discussion, but Schefter writes that Brees felt discomfort in his wrist after the initial conversation and got rid of the idea.
Guess what, though — it wouldn’t have worked.
Two things would’ve stood in the way of Brees returning from retirement to play for the Broncos in the playoffs last year.
Who Has Drew Brees’ Rights?
Brees is on the reserve-retired list as a member of the Saints based on his contract status when he retired.
That means that if he chose to come back, Brees would have to suit up for New Orleans unless they traded his rights elsewhere.
And while sometimes there are reasons to trade such rights, it’s hard to see the Saints being happy about moving Brees elsewhere just because he decided to return at an odd time.
There’s also a problem within this problem. A player can’t return from retirement in the middle of the playoffs and play.
“A retired player must return by the Tuesday after Week 13 in any given year,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio writes. “After that, he can’t play for anyone. Then there’s the fact that the Saints would have had to release Brees from the reserve-retired list. He then would have been subject to waivers.”
This part seems like such an obvious problem that it’s odd that such a report even exists. Brees couldn’t have played for Denver randomly in the middle of the playoffs even if he wanted to.
Broncos May Have Tampered
Given that Brees’ rights are still controlled by the Saints, any discussions he had with the Broncos are technically wrong.
“If, however, then-offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and offensive assistant Pete Carmichael spoke to Brees without permission from the Saints, it would have been tampering,” Florio writes. “Which leads to the next question. Will the league investigate the Broncos for tampering, based on Schefter’s report? Even without a complaint from the Saints, the league could take action.”
It’d be quite the brutal tampering trouble for the Broncos to get in, but it wouldn’t be totally unheard of.
“While the whole thing sounds good, it’s a big, fat nothing burger which, if anything, will get the Broncos in hot water for tampering with a player whose rights remain with another team,” Florio writes.
Drew Brees Return From Retirement News Has 2 Problems