Drew Brees considered a return for a few hours in the 2021 season. He didn't have much time to consider the option, and ultimately thought better of it, but he knows where he stands when it comes to his former team's quarterback future.
He sees it as in good hands, and those hands belong to Jameis Winston.
“I think it’s set up for success with Jameis," Brees said this week, speaking this week from Stretch Zone in New Orleans as he announced a donation to Kids Join the Fight, a nonprofit that helps provide local care and fund research to combat pediatric cancer.
"You can continue to build pieces around him that will help him be successful. ... I think Dennis Allen will do a great job," he continued. "He’ll have his own style, and yet certainly Dennis has been in this program for a long time, so he recognizes how we built this foundation, built this culture and he’ll certainly build on that.”
It's a quarterback future that's now in place following some uncertain weeks as the team pursued a potential trade for now-Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson. Once Watson opted for Cleveland in a surprise decision, the Saints quickly came to terms on a 3-year deal with Winston. But it won't come without questions. The returning quarterback is still rehabbing from a major knee injury that ended his 2021 season after leading the Saints to a 5-2 record as its new starting quarterback.
But having seen Winston work first-hand for the final two seasons of the now-broadcaster's legendary career, he knows what he expects in the 29-year-old's return. Winston, to his credit, has stated that he's ahead of schedule in his rehab and expects to be ready in plenty of time for training camp, which begins at the end of July.
“I think he’ll come back stronger than ever because I know his work ethic," Brees said. "And he’s a young guy and he’s had to struggle and overcome things before, so he knows how to do that. I think the more that he’s in this offense, the better he’ll become.”
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MORE FROM BREES
THOUGHTS ON SEAN PAYTON AS A BROADCASTER
“Sean’s a storyteller. Give him a mic and let him story-tell. I’d pay the monthly premium for that."
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WERE YOU REALLY SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING A RETURN LATE IN 2021?
“I was, I was very serious, for a moment. … Sean didn’t give me much time to make the decision. I was in Hawaii, it was a day before Christmas. There was a lot of thoughts that went into it, but I definitely gave it serious consideration.”
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DO YOU MISS THE GAME?
“I do miss football. I don’t miss the hits and I don’t miss the aches and pains. But I miss the locker room, I miss gameday. I’m fulfilling that with lots of pickleball … competitive pickleball with a good group of buddies that gets the competitive juices flowing still.”
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