The Broncos’ brief flirtation with Drew Brees might end up being more curiosity than controversy, but it has at least raised the possibility of an NFL tampering look.
Sean Payton, now in Denver and once again connected to his old quarterback, tried to cool things down on Tuesday. The former Saints coach said the idea of a reunion with Brees during the Broncos’ playoff push never really got far, and in his telling, the contact started with Brees, not the Broncos.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Brees briefly considered stepping in to help replace Bo Nix for the AFC championship game before deciding his throwing arm was too worn down. Brees also told longtime NFL insider Ed Werder that he had been approached by his former coaches Joe Lombardi and Pete Carmichael, both now with Denver. Payton, though, framed it differently.
Here’s what Payton told Broncos reporters on Tuesday, via Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio:
“Drew had reached out, I think, right after the championship or right after the playoff win against Buffalo. I think he called Pete, probably texted Pete or Joe, those guys.
None of it even came to my attention. So, when the story came up in Canton, I kept thinking they were just talking about the COVID season.
Even in the COVID season when he and I discussed possibly coming back for a Monday night game, he had trouble throwing it. So, I don’t think really anything really came of it.
I think in Drew’s mind, there’s that competitor in him. So, I was kind of out of the loop.
I don’t think it’s a big story, but nonetheless, certainly one that once they described it to me, it just never got to my level, I guess. He had reached out to Pete, I think, and then Joe.”
The wrinkle here is contractual. At the time, the Saints still controlled Brees’ rights, which means any contact about a possible return could invite scrutiny from the NFL office.
Werder reported that because the trade deadline had already passed, “the thought was that Brees or Payton could have attempted to convince Mickey Loomis to release his rights” so Brees could have joined the Broncos in January if his arm had been good enough. It wasn’t, and nothing came of it, but the possibility of an investigation still lingers.
For now, it’s a story with more smoke than fire. But if the league decides to dig, the question won’t be whether Brees could still throw. It’ll be who called whom, and when.
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