Drew Brees Could Make Retirement Decision ‘Within the Next Week,’ Sean Payton Says

It is expected that New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees will retire, but he hasn’t made a public decision just yet.

“I think within the next week, week and a half, we’ll get a little bit more information relative to Drew,” Saints head coach Sean Payton told PFT Live on Wednesday. “We’ll wait on Drew’s announcement.”

The 42-year-old quarterback ended the 2020 season with 24 touchdowns for 2,942 yards and six interceptions.

Brees has not made any sort of comment on his future in the NFL since the Saints’ season ended in a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Jan. 17. He simply said he needed time to think.

“I’ll answer this question one time, and that is that I’m going to give myself an opportunity to think about the season, think about a lot of things, just like I did last year, and make a decision,” Brees said on Jan. 17.

Payton spoke highly of 30-year-old QB Taysom Hill and 27-year-old QB Jameis Winston during his interview on Wednesday.

“Most teams, right at the end of the season, you meet on your own roster,” Payton said. “You spend a good portion of a week going through each player, talking about the season, where they’re at, where they’re going.”

Hill is currently under contract with the Saints, and Winston is a free agent that Payton said the team hopes to sign “sooner than later.”

“We’ve got a pretty good vision with those players,” Payton said. “But I think within the next week, we’ll know a little bit more.”