at Gillette Stadium on October 13, 2013 in Foxboro, Massachusetts.The New England Patriots defeated the New Orleans Saints 30-27. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

NFL insider predicts a legend will retire following 2018 season

Fans of this team won't want to hear this.

The NFL offseason is a fantastic time for wild predictions, if only because the content wheel isn't churning at the same rate as normal. With that in mind, Dan Graziano of ESPN put together a smattering of reasonable predictions for the future and one such projection includes an NFL legend retiring after the 2018 season.

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There are a few options for that headline but, this time, it is New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

The 5,830 yards Brees needs to surpass Peyton Manning as the all-time leader are too many for one season — even for Brees, who boasts five of the top eight single-season totals in league history. So one more year after this to make him the all-time passer, then Brees will hang it up at age 40 in the 2019 offseason.

It would not be a surprise if Tom Brady joined Brees in retirement on the same time frame but Brees, given the threshold referenced above, makes even more sense. While Brees isn't seen in the same tier as Brady in terms of all-time placement, he is a sure-fire Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee as soon as eligible and that should add a lot of intrigue about when he decides to hang it up.

Fans of the Saints likely want Brees to play as long as he can but don't be shocked if it is only two more seasons.