New Orleans Saints retired quarterback Drew Brees (9) reacts during his hall of fame ceremony at halftime against the Denver Broncos at Caesars Superdome.
© Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
With former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees being a Hall of Fame player and enjoying the benefits of retirement, there is always going to be somebody who has the thought of him potentially coming back to the NFL. As Brees is a legend of the Saints and the NFL at-large, he has recently talked about retirement and why he hasn't made the chance to come out of it.
Speaking at a publicity event for the fast food restaurant “Raising Cane's,” Brees was asked if coaches or teams reached out about coming out of retirement to play and if he ever seriously considered it. Brees expressed that while his body and mind feel he could come back, there are other important aspects that have held those thoughts back.
“I'll say this: my body, my mind, everything feels like I could absolutely still get out there. Unfortunately, right shoulder, right wrist aren't in great shape. I got all the mileage that I possibly could out of both of those,” Brees said, according to DJ Siddiqi.
Drew Brees on why he never considered pulling a Philip Rivers to come out of retirement and play in the NFL again:
"My body, my mind, everything feels like I could absolutely still get out there. Unfortunately, right shoulder, right wrist aren't in great shape. I got all the… pic.twitter.com/6LJF31zQoH
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Drew Brees reflects on significant shoulder surgery in 2006
There's no denying that after fans watched Phillip Rivers come back last season with the Indianapolis Colts and play meaningful football, the possibilities are endless. At 47 years old, Brees also has the question of his injury history, made prevalent by his 2005 significant shoulder injury, dislocating his shoulder and tearing his labrum and rotator cuff.
Though his career would change after that injury, going to the New Orleans Saints from the San Diego Chargers at the time, the famous surgery in 2006 he had by Dr. James Andrews would have long-term impacts if he kept playing, which Brees echoed.
“Doctor Andrews basically said, ‘Hey, I'll put you back together, just wear out the tires as much as you can, and know that you're on a fast track to a degenerative shoulder after this.'”
Brees would have an impeccable career, winning a Super Bowl and ranking among the top quarterbacks in history in major categories like passing yards (second with 80,358), touchdowns (second with 571), and many more.