Emmanuel Sanders Says Drew Brees Cried During Apology to Saints Players

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders provided some details Wednesday regarding quarterback Drew Brees' apology after saying in June he disagreed with kneeling during the national anthem.

During an appearance on ESPN's First Take (h/t TMZ Sports), Sanders said that Brees cried while apologizing: "As he talked, the more and more he talked, you just see a guy with just tears rolling down his face. I mean, I've never seen that. You could just tell that he was hurt by his comments and the things that people were saying about him because he was unaware of it."

Brees apologized after his comments in an interview with Yahoo Finance's Daniel Roberts. When Brees was asked about kneeling during the anthem, he said at the time that he wouldn't support anything that disrespects the flag:

The veteran signal-caller received plenty of backlash, including some from his teammates like safety Malcolm Jenkins. Brees quickly made a public apology on Instagram.

Brees admitted that he "completely missed the mark" by making it about the flag rather than recognizing that players knelt to protest against social injustice, racial inequality and police brutality.

With Brees having apologized both publicly and privately, Sanders expressed his belief that all is well in the Saints' locker room: "We understood where he was coming from and we were able to move past it. I don't see any weird energy going on in the locker room."

Sanders also called Brees "one of the best teammates I've been around."

New Orleans signed the 33-year-old Sanders during the offseason after he split last season between the Denver Broncos and the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers. Sanders had a modest three catches for 15 yards in the Saints' Week 1 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he had an instant connection with Brees in the red zone, as he caught a five-yard touchdown.

With Brees and his teammates seemingly on the same page, it appears all the necessary pieces could be in place for the Saints to make a Super Bowl run.