The Broncos were in a desperate spot after Bo Nix went down in the AFC Divisional Round, and according to Adam Schefter, they at least explored one stunning possibility: Drew Brees.
Nix broke his ankle on the second-to-last play of Denver’s win over the Buffalo Bills, right before the Broncos lined up for the game-winning field goal that sent them to the AFC Championship Game. The injury hit like a gut punch, and Denver’s follow-up plan with Jarrett Stidham didn’t get the job done the next week.
Then came the bombshell Schefter shared during the Monday Night Football pregame show. He said Pete Carmichael and Joe Lombardi, both longtime Sean Payton assistants and former Broncos coaches, privately reached out to Brees to see whether he might come out of retirement and play for Denver in the title game.
“ESPN sources: Hall-of-Fame QB Drew Brees mulled playing for the Denver Broncos in last season’s AFC Championship game. https://t.co/SfsBCUPjLz”
Brees ultimately passed because of discomfort in his wrist, so the reunion never happened. Still, the mere fact that the Broncos checked into the idea says plenty about how chaotic the situation was once Nix was lost. With the most important position in football suddenly in flux, Denver likely had plenty of names on the table.
The Brees angle made sense because of his history with Payton. The two built Hall of Fame careers together with the New Orleans Saints from 2006-2020, and Brees would have been an enormous long shot at 47 years old. Even so, the fact that he worked out at least suggests he seriously entertained the possibility.
Brees closed his NFL career with six straight seasons of a 100-plus passer rating over his final six years. Over 15 seasons with the Saints, he threw 491 touchdown passes, piled up 142 wins and finished with 68,010 passing yards.
That Saints run also included a Super Bowl victory over Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts in the 2009 season, one of the signature achievements of the Payton-Brees partnership that helped define some of the league’s best offenses.
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Broncos Had A Wild Quarterback Emergency After Bo Nix Went Down
Bo Nixs broken ankle late in the AFC Divisional Round suddenly left the Broncos searching for answers at the games most important position, and the urgency stretched far beyond the immediate aftermath. With an AFC Championship Game looming, Denvers coaching staff had to explore every realistic option, turning a playoff injury into a full-blown quarterback emergency at exactly the wrong time.
According to Adam Schefter, Broncos assistants Pete Carmichael and Joe Lombardi reached out to Drew Brees to see whether the former Saints star might have any interest in ending his retirement for one more run. Brees passed because of wrist discomfort, closing off one of the most intriguing emergency fixes imaginable, even with his past ties to Sean Payton from their New Orleans days hanging over the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Sean Payton Faces A Bigger Bo Nix Question After Broncos Collapse
Bo Nixs afternoon against Kansas City was the kind of game that leaves a coach searching for answers in every direction. The Broncos quarterback finished with 17 completions for 131 yards and a touchdown, but the turnovers and the overall sloppiness in the loss turned what should have been another measuring-stick game into a fresh reminder of how fragile Denvers offense still is.
Sean Payton now has a much bigger quarterback conversation on his hands, especially with outside voices already wondering whether changes could come at Nix or offensive coordinator Davis Webb. Nix, for his part, pointed to execution rather than play-calling, saying the Broncos were running the calls they were given but not carrying them out well enough, which only deepens the frustration after a defeat that felt like it opened more questions than it answered. [Read more 🡒]
ESPN Just Reignited An NFL Double Standard Debate Fans Know Well
During ESPNs Monday Night Football coverage of the Broncos-Chiefs game, sideline reporter Laura Rutledge noted that Denver defender Jonathon Cooper was out because he had been placed on the commissioners exempt list after domestic violence charges. It was a sharp in-game reference to a serious off-field issue, the kind of subject broadcasts often handle carefully when a players availability is affected by more than just injury or coaching decisions.
Former Broncos safety Justin Simmons quickly took issue with ESPN bringing Coopers legal situation into the telecast, and the pushback helped reopen an old argument about where game coverage should draw the line. The reaction from former players and fans has once again put ESPNs treatment of player controversies under the microscope, especially when the topic lands in the middle of a nationally televised rivalry game. [Read more 🡒]