Drew Brees calls it a career after 20 seasons in the NFL
AP Photo/Jason Behnken, File
In this Dec. 9, 2018, file photo, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) shakes hands with Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3) after an NFL football game in Tampa, Fla. Winston signed a one-year contract with the Saints in 2021.
Over the weekend, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees officially retired from the National Football League.
Speculation arose that Brees would be returning after the Saints fell to the Buccaneers in the 2021 divisional round.
Brees, originally drafted 32nd overall to the San Diego Chargers, made the announcement 15 years to the day after he signed with the Saints on March 14, 2006.
Brees is touted by many fans to be a savior of the city of New Orleans and a savior of the Saints franchise. The quarterback signed six months after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina swept through the city. Brees will be regarded as the greatest player in Saints history.
The Dallas native currently holds numerous passing records as he is first in most passing yards in NFL history, first in total completions as a quarterback and holds the highest career completion percentage.
On top of all the impressive numbers and historic accomplishments, Brees also will be remembered as a great underdog story. At just six feet tall, Brees was recruited by only two colleges before a record-breaking career at Purdue. For someone who was labeled out of college “too small and too short” Brees proved doubters wrong as he will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2026.
He led the Saints to the NFC Championship Game in that first year and won the only Super Bowl in franchise history three years later, with Brees being named the game’s MVP. Brees led the Saints to a 31-17 victory over Peyton Manning in Super Bowl XLIV in Miami.
The announcement came via Brees’s Instagram as he told the city of New Orleans, “I am only retiring from playing football, I am not retiring from New Orleans. This is not goodbye, rather a new beginning. Now my real life’s work begins.”
As for now, the Saints will be in search of their new franchise quarterback, with Brees leaving after guiding the Saints to one Super Bowl, three conference championship appearances and seven division championships.
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Gerard Borne is a communication major from Norco. Borne began working at The Lion's Roar in the fall of 2018. He plans to become a sports agent upon graduation.
