Drew Brees retires after 20 seasons in NFL: ‘This is not goodbye, rather a new beginning’

Author: CBS Sports
Published: Updated:
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) works against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first half of an NFL divisional round playoff football game, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

After 20 seasons in the NFL, the last 15 of which he spent with the New Orleans SaintsDrew Brees has called it a career. A 13-time Pro Bowler, one-time Super Bowl champion and perennial record-holder, the 42-year-old quarterback announced on Sunday that he has played his last down of competitive football.

While many assumed the Saints’ divisional round playoff loss to the Buccaneers was the final game of Brees’ surefire Hall of Fame career, Brees waited two more months before officially announcing his retirement. Brees announced his retirement via a post on his Instagram account.

“After 20 years as a player in the NFL and 15 years as a Saint, it is time I retire from the game of football.

“Each day, I poured my heart and soul into being your quarterback. Till the very end, I exhausted myself to give everything I had to the Saints’ organization, my team and the great city of New Orleans. We shared some amazing moments together, many of which are emblazoned in our hearts and minds and will forever be a part of us. You have molded me, strengthened me, inspired me, and given me a lifetime of memories. My goal for the last 15 years was striving to give you everything you had given to me and more.

“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!”

Brees alluded to the possibility of retiring following January’s playoff loss to Tampa Bay. The loss marked the fourth consecutive playoff defeat for the Saints and the third straight playoff loss at home.

“I’ve always tried to play this game with a great respect and a great reverence for it,” Brees told reporters after that loss. “I appreciate all that this game has given to me. There are obviously so many incredible memories, so many incredible relationships that have come as a result of playing this game. And you find out so much about yourself and you have to fight so much when you play this game. And I’d say this season, I’ve probably had to fight through more than I’ve ever had to in any other season in my career, from injury to all the COVID stuff to crazy circumstances. (But) it was worth every moment of it.”

Injuries hampered Brees during his final two seasons with New Orleans, as the veteran missed five games in 2019 and another four in 2020, but his numbers hardly ever slipped from the time he debuted with the Saints until the time he said goodbye to the Superdome. In nine of his final 12 NFL seasons, Brees posted a passer rating above 100, logging a career-high 116.3 in 2019. He was arguably the chief reason for New Orleans’ postseason consistency under coach Sean Payton, helping guide the Saints to nine different playoff appearances and captained the franchise to its first-ever Super Bowl victory in 2009, defeating Peyton Manning and the Colts.

 

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.