Drew Brees playing for Sean Payton again almost became a very real thing.
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After Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix fractured his ankle during last season's playoffs, members of Payton's coaching staff contacted Brees about potentially coming out of retirement for the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots.
Hall of Fame reporter Ed Werder said former Saints coaches Joe Lombardi and Pete Carmichael reached out to Brees the morning after Denver learned Nix was done.
And Brees actually considered it.
According to Werder, the 47-year-old jokingly checked with Pro Football Hall of Fame CEO Jim Porter to make sure a comeback wouldn't interfere with his 2026 induction. Once assured it wouldn't, Brees took his son Callen to a nearby field and started throwing.
Mentally, Brees told Werder, he was ready for the challenge. Physically? Not so much.
HOF QB Drew Brees tells me he was contacted by former Saints coaches on Sean Payton’s staff about playing in the AFC Championship Game for injured Bo Nix the morning after Dan Fouts did the door knock informing him he was voted into the HOF.
Brees jokingly checked with HOF CEO…
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdNFL) September 15, 2026
Brees said his right wrist and shoulder were in such rough shape that he couldn't throw 15 yards with the necessary velocity. That ended the comeback idea.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Lombardi and Carmichael initially contacted Brees without telling Payton, intending to determine whether the quarterback was interested before taking the possibility to Denver's head coach.
Instead, Jarrett Stidham started and Denver lost 10-7 to New England, finishing one win shy of the Super Bowl.
So yes, for at least a little while, Brees was preparing to play quarterback in an AFC Championship Game at age 47.
Football is weird.
