New Orleans Saints fans are happy that Drew Brees is returning for the 2020 season. However, it looks like Brees will call it a career once the season comes to an end. Saints head coach Sean Payton made an appearance on the ESPN show Get Up this week and touched on a few topics, including Brees. Payton, who is recovering after contracting coronavirus last month, said that Brees’ final NFL season will be this fall.
“The unique situation with our team and our quarterback Drew Brees is he’s announced he’s coming back for his final season,” Payton said when talking about the Saints’ quarterback situation. Payton added that he sees backup quarterback Taysom Hill as a starter in the near future. Hill has played multiple positions for the Saints the last few years and has scored nine touchdowns in 37 games.
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Sean Payton’s quote about this being Drew Brees’ final season. pic.twitter.com/ooq4D9JVkV
— Andrew Doak (@AndrewDoak_WWL) March 31, 2020
It’s not a big surprise to see Brees retire after the 2020 season. Once the 2019 season came to an end, the NFL’s all-time leading passer was contemplating his future. In January, he spoke to Jane Slater of the NFL Network, saying he would return to the Saints if he doesn’t retire.
“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.”
In February, Brees announced he’s returning to New Orleans. In March, Brees agreed to a two-year, $50 million contract. What’s motivating him is winning another Super Bowl since the Saints have come up short the last three years. After winning the NFC South in 2019 with a 13-3 record, the Saints lost to the Minnesota Vikings in the wild-card round of the playoffs in January.
“You’ve got no other choice but to move on and get better as a result of it,” Brees said to Slater. “We learn something every time around. We’re not going to be discouraged. We’re not going to take the results of the last three playoffs — with some crazy things happening, obviously, kind of unprecedented things happening — and deter us from still striving to accomplish the ultimate goal. I feel like we have all the pieces in place. “
