Saints' Drew Brees Says When He Retires It Will Be 'On My Own Terms'

Drew Brees shook up the NFL offseason's quarterback carousel last week when reports began to surface the league's all-time passing leader was considering retirement. The 19-year veteran finally addressed his impending decision Friday on NFL Network's Super Bowl Live by explaining what he's weighing before committing to return in 2020. 

"When I walk away, I don't want it to be because I can't play the game anymore because there's 32 teams saying, 'Alright, see ya later,'" Brees said. "I want it to be on my own terms first. And I want it to be because I just want to spend more time with my family. I'm ready for that next chapter. When that time comes, I'll know. I also recognize when the season ends you just take some time and decompress and kind of just go through that process the right way."

That echoes what Saints head coach Sean Payton noted on Thursday when he said the team would give Brees time to make up his mind. Brees is slated to become a free agent on March 18 and it's likely New Orleans will need a decision from him before then. All three quarterbacks on the Saints' roster—Brees, Teddy Bridgewater and Taysom Hill—can enter free agency this offseason. 

Payton noted the idea of keeping all three is essentially impossible. Especially with Bridgewater's desire to start in the NFL. There's a chance he'll get the opportunity to do so with New Orleans, but that entirely depends on if Brees comes back or not.

Before Brees is able to figure that out, he apparently needs to forget about football for a bit and come down from the intensity of another season.

"There's definitely a process that takes place when you think about this," Brees said. "It's not like you just wake up one day and decide you want to retire. First and foremost, it's the time that I commit to playing the game of football. Maybe people don't realize just all that goes into that just mentally, emotionally, psychologically the way that you prepare for a season and go through training camp and go through the season. Time away from my family then just the mental aspect of what goes into the stress that's involved there."

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