Saints QB Drew Brees Announces Retirement From NFL

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – New Orleans Saints quarterback and future Hall of Fame honoree Drew Brees announced that he is retiring from the NFL.

The quarterback last played in the Saints’ loss to the eventual Super Bowl LV champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Divisional Round on January 17.

With Brees’ retirement, New Orleans head coach Sean Payton will have to decide on whether one of the current Saints quarterbacks, Taysom Hill or Jameis Winston, will take over as the team’s starter next season.

Fifteen years to the date he signed with New Orleans, Drew Brees has announced his retirement.

Next stop: Canton.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 14, 2021

New Orleans signed Hill to a multi-year deal before the 2020 season.

Winston will be a free agent this offseason.

Who starts for New Orleans at QB in 2021? pic.twitter.com/SISpC0Ar1N

— PFF (@PFF) January 18, 2021

New Orleans owns the No. 28 pick in the first round of April’s 2021 NFL Draft.

Hall of Fame Career

Brees leaves the NFL as one of the league’s best signal-callers of all-time.

9️⃣ 🙏 pic.twitter.com/nBGrJb5DOR

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) January 18, 2021

Some of Brees’ accomplishments include:

• Super Bowl champion (2009)
• Super Bowl MVP (2009)
• Two-time Offensive Player of the Year
• 80,358 passing yards (No. 1 in NFL history)
• 571 touchdown passes (No. 2 in NFL history)
• 67.7 percent completion rate (No. 2 in NFL history)
• 13-time Pro Bowl honoree
• First-team All-Pro (2006)

Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill

Brees’ primary backup in 2020 was former BYU star Taysom Hill.

Hill played in 17 games for the Saints last season, including four starts at quarterback during the regular season.

As the starting quarterback, Hill led New Orleans to a 3-1 record.

He threw for 928 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions with a 72.7 completion rate.

Taysom Time ⏰ #LocalsInTheNFL #YACPodcast #Saints #NFL #BYU #GoCougs #BYUFOOTBALL @kslsports pic.twitter.com/46PPMfFWmf

— Kyle Ireland 😷 (@kyleireland) December 14, 2020

In addition to passing, Hill had 87 carries for 457 yards and eight touchdowns.

By comparison, Winston finished the year with 7/11 passing for 75 yards in four games.

Before joining the Saints, the former No. 1 overall pick was the starting quarterback for the Buccaneers, During his five seasons in Tampa Bay, Winston threw for 19,737 yards, 121 touchdowns, and 88 interceptions. Combined with fumbles, he had 111 total turnovers.

On February 3, Payton said the Saints have a “pretty good vision” for both Winston and Hill. Payton also said that he’d like the Saints to re-sign Winston “sooner than later.”

“A lot of times you want to hold your cards closer to the vest,” Payton told Good Morning Football. “Him along with Taysom Hill. We’ve said it all along. We’re gonna develop and coach those guys and Jameis is one of those guys that we have a big interest in.”

Prior to the 2020 season, Winston signed a $1.1 million, one-year deal with the Saints while the team re-signed Hill to a multi-year deal worth $21 million.