The New Orleans Saints attempted a “Hail Mary” at Christmas, but it went unanswered.
In a desperate bid to bolster the quarterback position for Monday’s game once morest the Miami Dolphins, the Saints tried to lure franchise icon Drew Brees out of retirement.
Brees spoke to head coach Sean Payton this week while vacationing in Hawaii with his family and was seriously considering a return, so he threw some passes to test his arm. Ultimately, however, he turned down the offer, partly because he wasn’t sure he’d be operational once more any time soon. Brees also didn’t want to return unless he was guaranteed to play on Monday night.
The 42-year-old resigned last March following throwing for 80,358 yards in 20 NFL seasons. He now works as an analyst at NBC.
Brees wasn’t the only recently retired quarterback to speak with the Saints this week. New Orleans also contacted Philip Rivers, who now coaches high school football in Alabama, and longtime backup Josh McCown, whose last game was in 2019.
The Saints have been looking for a quarterback following putting both Taysom Hill and Trevor Siemian on the COVID-19 list Thursday. Hill and Siemian had shared QB time following Jameis Winston’s season-ending injury in Week 8. Rookie Ian Book will reportedly start the game on Monday and Blake Bortles, who New Orleans signed on Friday, will serve as his backup.
Foto: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire
