New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton has described himself as a “big dummy” for saying Drew Brees was retiring after next season.
Brees, 41, reportedly agreed to a two-year contract with the Saints last month. The 2020 season will be his 20th in the NFL.
When Payton told ESPN on Tuesday that Brees was returning for a “final season” it sparked wide spread discussions about the future of the standout quarterback.
The 13-time Pro-Bowler has set as many records and perhaps even more than the great Tom Brady. He would in fact be ranked right up there as Brady’s equal but for their contrasting Super Bowl records.
It’s one Super Bowl to six
He’s won one in his first season with the Saints in 2006, but no more. Brady, meanwhile, has carried off six Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots – the last one just two seasons back
A red-faced Payton has admitted he sent out a wrong message in his ESPN interview. Brees, he insists, will in the future be taking things “year by year”.
“I’m a big dummy. Yesterday we got chatting on ESPN and I think the way I worded it was that he’s coming back for his last year,” Payton said in a conference call on Wednesday.
“I honestly do not know if it is his last year. I think the thing he’s done and we’ve all done is take it year by year and man that thing blew up on me.”
Brees and the Saints reached the playoffs last season before unexpectedly losing in the Wild Card game.
Took his time this year
Brees has taken his time this year in deciding whether he wanted to return for another season. And Payton respects the veteran quarterback for that.
“This year he spent some time; he spent a lot of time really; making sure he was ready to come back, not only physically, but mentally,” the Saints coach said.
“He’s now back again for another year and probably in my mind really, I started with the idea that this year was unique. He had spent some time thinking about it before saying, ‘Hey, am I ready to come back for another season?’
“Before we deal with the year after this season, I know the focal point for us will be this season,” Payton added.
To give you some idea of Brees’ class, here are some of the performance records held by a man US College football rated as ‘the Big Ten’s best quarterback of the 1990s’.
NFL records held by Drew Brees
Most career passing yards
Most career pass completions
Most career touchdown passes
Highest career completion percentage
Highest single-season completion percentage
Most consecutive games with a touchdown pass
Most pass completions in a season
Most 5,000 passing yard seasons
Highest completion percentage in a game
Most touchdown passes in a game (tied)
Career NFL statistics as of 2019
Passing attempts: 10,161
Passing completions: 6,867
Completion percentage: 67.6
Passing yards: 77,416
TD–INT: 547–237
Passer rating: 98.4
Note: Player stats from NFL.com