Drew Brees said he seriously explored an emergency comeback for the Denver Broncos before last season’s AFC Championship Game, but pain in his throwing wrist and shoulder ended the possibility before it could advance.
Key takeaways
- Brees contacted Broncos assistants Pete Carmichael and Joe Lombardi after learning he had been selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
- The former Saints quarterback tested his arm the following morning but said he could not throw effectively with his right side.
- Denver started Jarrett Stidham after Bo Nix suffered a foot injury and lost 10-7 to the New England Patriots in difficult weather.
- Brees also remains on the New Orleans Saints’ reserve/retired list, another obstacle to any return.
- Sean Payton said last week that he had not been aware Brees had considered joining Denver.
Brees briefly considered Broncos return
The possibility surfaced after Brees received his Hall of Fame door knock on Monday, January 19, one day after the divisional round and after news emerged that Nix would be unavailable because of his foot injury.
Hall of Fame president Jim Porter and former Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts were present when Brees learned he had been voted in. Brees said he joked that the honor meant he could not suit up for Denver that week, but Porter told him the completed vote did not prevent him from playing again.
That answer prompted Brees to reach out to Carmichael and Lombardi, who had worked with him in New Orleans and were then on the Broncos’ staff. Brees said he asked whether Denver needed him and told them he might be able to prepare in time. The assistants responded that they would take the idea to Payton.
Before any further step, Brees decided to see whether his arm could hold up. He threw passes in his backyard with his 13-year-old son serving as the receiver, but the session made clear that a return was unrealistic.
“My mind, my body and everything else feels great,” Brees said, while explaining that his right wrist and shoulder would not permit a comeback. He said he could only throw about 10 yards, and doing so caused significant pain.
Brees said he would have welcomed the chance to help Payton, the Penner family and others he knows in the organization reach the Super Bowl. But after the throwing test, he informed Carmichael and Lombardi that he could offer only moral support.
Denver’s season ended with Stidham at quarterback
Brees said he had thought about returning “1,000 percent,” but the physical limitation was decisive. He jokingly suggested that he could have been dangerous throwing left-handed near the goal line and still could have helped manage protections and play calls, yet he concluded he could not perform at the required NFL level.
The Broncos instead turned to Stidham in place of Nix for the AFC Championship Game. Denver’s offense was held to seven points in harsh conditions, and New England escaped with a 10-7 victory.
The report of Brees’ contact with Denver became a talking point ahead of last week’s Broncos-Chiefs matchup. Payton said at that time that he had never heard Brees was contemplating a return, despite the former quarterback’s account that Carmichael and Lombardi had planned to discuss it with him.
