Sean Payton Clarifies Drew Brees Retirement Remark: QB Will Go 'Year by Year'

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New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton admitted to reporters on Wednesday that he misspoke when he said during a Tuesday appearance on ESPN's Get Up! that 2020 will be 41-year-old All-Pro quarterback Drew Brees' "final season."

"I'm a big dummy," Payton said on a call with reporters. "I think his plan is to take it year by year."

Payton's full comments from Get Up!, which centered around backup hybrid quarterback Taysom Hill, are below:

"I think the role is pretty clear, and first and foremost, we still view him as a quarterback, and we spent a lot of time this offseason discussing our vision for him this season at quarterback, but then also at the F-position. And what I mean by that ... that slash, tight end, wide receiver, he's a tremendous blocker, he's physical. I don't think people realize how fast he is. He's probably one of the three or four fastest guys on the team. So, he'll play that F-position, he'll certainly be involved in the kicking game. It's one of the things he takes pride in and is very good at.

"And then the unique situation with our team and with our quarterback, Drew Brees is...he's announced he's coming back for his final season, I think Taysom sees himself as being a starting quarterback in this league and we do too."

Brees re-signed with the Saints on a two-year, $50 million contract last month.

However, at January's Pro Bowl the future Hall of Famer hinted to The Times-Picayune's Amie Just that retirement might come sooner rather than later:

"I'm really waiting until football is totally done. Obviously being here, I'm just very much focused on my family and this opportunity to be be around the guys, playing the game. Then, I'll kind of lay low for a little bit, get away and then assess. I kind of have a process in mind. And I'll give it a month or so.

"I have never been in the situation where I was mulling over the thought of (returning). To me, each one of these contracts, I don't know how many it's been with the Saints, I've played with them 14 years, each one, it's not a matter of if it gets done, it's when. At this stage of my career, it's not a given that I'm coming back every year, but when that time comes, I'll always be a Saint."

Brees announced he would return for the 2020 season in mid-February:

The 13-time Pro Bowler has set numerous all-time individual records but has won just one Super Bowl title with the Saints, which came back in the 2009 season.

Brees left the then-San Diego Chargers and began his New Orleans tenure began in 2006. Since, he has thrown for 65,068 yards, 467 touchdowns and 184 interceptions with a 133-83 record. Brees has led the NFL in completion percentage since 2017, including a career-best 74.3 percent last season.