Bo Nix fractured his ankle on the second-to-last play of Denver‘s divisional round win over the Buffalo Bills last January, right before the Broncos kicked the field goal that sent them to the AFC Championship. Within hours, the franchise was scrambling to find a starting quarterback to face the New England Patriots, and the name that came up was Drew Brees.
The contact came the same morning Brees learned he had been selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Rather than dismiss the idea, he went outside to throw to his son to find out if his body could still handle an NFL game.
considered returning to help the Broncos but failed in his backyard
Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and offensive assistant Pete Carmichael made the call to Brees directly. Both had coached him during his years with Sean Payton in New Orleans, and that familiarity made the conversation possible. Brees said he knew around 20 people in the Broncos organization and was genuinely open to helping them reach the Super Bowl.
Nov 17, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees during the half time Ring of Honor ceremony for Jahri Evans at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Before making any decision, Brees wanted to find out if his body could handle playing again. He worked out with his son, Callen. The session was a reality check for the former QB. He said, “I started trying to rip the ball to him. And man, this shoulder and this right wrist are so wasted. I got no pop. So for people to say like, ‘Oh, I felt discomfort?’ Discomfort my butt, dude. I can’t throw 15 yards with any kind of pop…”
He shared that he still had strong ties to the organization, knowing around 20 people there, and viewed the opportunity as a challenge late in his football journey, but it was not to be.
Brees had retired after the 2020 season and had not played a competitive snap in five years. The workout confirmed that his arm, specifically the wrist and shoulder that had been deteriorating toward the end of his career, could not meet the demands of an AFC Championship Game.
One of the more striking details to emerge from the reporting is that Sean Payton had no idea Lombardi and Carmichael had reached out to Brees. The two assistants wanted to gauge Brees’ interest before bringing it to their head coach.
Payton only found out during the offseason, and when he first heard about it he reportedly thought they were referring to 2021, when New Orleans briefly explored bringing Brees back during a quarterback injury crisis that season. Brees made clear that mentally he was ready to try.
“There’s like 20 guys in that Broncos organization that I know and love,” he said. “I would love nothing more than to help them win a game to get to the Super Bowl and then go win that thing. I’d love to go up against that Mike MacDonald defense. So much respect for him. I was mentally ready. The rest of my body? Ready. But right arm and right wrist? They lost it a long time ago.”
There was also a separate logistical obstacle. Brees remained on the New Orleans Saints‘ reserve-retired list, and the NFL’s deadline for a retired player to return had already passed. Even if the wrist had held up, Denver may not have had a legal path to put him on the field.
In the end, Denver handed the job to Jarrett Stidham, while Brees’ brief comeback consideration remained an interesting what-if story of the Broncos’ playoff run.
Brees retired after the 2020 season. In 12 games for the New Orleans Saints that year, he completed 275 of 390 passes for 2,942 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions. He finished the season with a 70.5% completion rate and a 106.4 passer rating.
Brees finished his 20-year career with 287 regular-season games, 80,358 passing yards, 571 touchdowns and 243 interceptions. He also completed 67.7% of his career passes, finishing among the NFL’s most productive quarterbacks.
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