Sean Payton believes he made a mistake. Earlier this week, the New Orleans Saints head coach said 2020 will be Drew Brees’ final season. However, that might not be the case as Payton talked to reporters on Thursday, and he said the former Super Bowl MVP is taking a year-by-year approach.
“I’m a dummy. His plan is to take it year by year. That was my fault,” Payton said via Fox News. The discussion of Brees came up when Payton was talking about the quarterback’s situation on the ESPN show Get Up. The Saints lost Teddy Bridgewater this offseason as he signed a three-year contract with the Carolina Panthers, which has led to Taysom Hill moving up to the No. 3 spot. Payton talked about how Hill can be a starting quarterback in the NFL. He said: “The unique situation with our team and our quarterback Drew Brees is he’s announced he’s coming back for his final season.”
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Brees signed a two-year, $50 million deal with the Saints in the offseason. Once the 2019 season came to an end, there was speculation about his future since he’s 41 years old and his contract was about to expire. When he was at the Pro Bowl, Brees said if he doesn’t retire, he’s not going to play for another team.
“I have never been in the situation where I was mulling over the thought of [returning],” Brees said. “To me, each one of these contracts, I don’t know how many it’s been with the Saints, I’ve played with them 14 years, it’s not a matter of if it gets done, it’s when. At this stage of my career, it’s not a given that I’m coming back every year, but when that time comes, I’ll always be a Saint.”
Even with Brees signing a two-year contract, it’s possible he could retire once the 2020 season ends. When he spoke to reporters after the team lost to the Minnesota Vikings in the playoffs back in January, and he wanted to go over everything before making a decision on his future.
“I’m not making any comments on that, other than I’ve told you guys this over the last couple of years, I’ve always just taken it one year at a time and kind of re-evaluate each offseason and find the things I want to get better at and move on,” he said at the time.
