Drew Brees, Bear Grylls
Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images, YouTube: Vanity Fair

Drew Brees Nearly Lost His Hand in This Crazy Story with Bear Grylls

I don't think anyone's ever confused New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees for a wilderness expert. The NFL's all-time leader in passing yards is one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game and with that comes some special perks. One of them was taking a trip into the jungle with survivalist Bear Grylls where Brees apparently almost lost his hand.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Grylls — a former British serviceman who was named the youngest Chief Scout of the U.K.'s Boy Scout Association — discussed the possibility of surviving situations that took place in various movies over the years. When discussing a scene from Crocodile Dundee, Grylls let slip a crazy story about how Drew Brees almost lost one of his Hall of Fame limbs while wrestling a live crocodile.

During an episode of Running Wild With Bear Grylls, Brees ventured into the Panama Jungle with the survival expert. Together, they came across a crocodile that Grylls suggests they kill and eat for dinner because when you're traveling with a camera crew in the Panama Jungle, why not attack a wild animal?

Like a couple of savages hoping to lose a finger, Brees jumped on the crocodile's back and wrestled it while Grylls passed him a knife to drive into its neck. When it didn't go right away, Grylls apparently reacted by grabbing a rock and slamming the knife that Brees — who's worth about $130 million — was holding with his right hand.

Last time I checked, quarterbacks actually NEED that hand to do their job.

"Afterwards, Drew goes, 'Do you know how much my hand is insured for, and the NFL doesn't even know I'm here in the jungle with you?' I go, 'Sorry I wasn't even think about that, I was just trying to get this knife in the croc. He goes, 'You nailed it. You hit the knife but an inch either way and that would've been my hand!"

— Bear Grylls, h/t Vanity Fair

For the record, this episode first aired in 2015. That's the only season between 2008 and 2018 that Brees was NOT named to the Pro Bowl under coach Sean Payton. It's probably best that the 40-year-old quarterback just stays as far away as possible from the jungle as possible...

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