Sources: Brees mulled NFL comeback, playing for Broncos in AFC title game — SkimNews
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- Joe Lombardi and Pete Carmichael, the Broncos' offensive coordinator and assistant, secretly explored a Drew Brees comeback after Bo Nix fractured his ankle in the overtime playoff win over Buffalo — and did not inform head coach Sean Payton, wanting to gauge Brees' willingness first.
- Brees, who had turned 47 two days before Nix's Jan. 17 injury, agreed to a workout to test his body but found wrist discomfort and shut down the return before Denver faced New England in the AFC Championship Game.
- Sean Payton only learned of the plot in the offseason and was "fascinated and flabbergasted"; he initially thought his assistants were referencing a 2021 Saints situation when Brees also briefly considered a return after Jameis Winston tore his ACL.
- A Broncos source said Brees would have slotted in as "1A or 1B" alongside Jarrett Stidham, with Brees telling his former Saints assistants: "I know how to win a game like that."
- Jarrett Stidham started in Brees' place and struggled in the snow, going 17-of-31 for 133 yards with one touchdown, one interception and a lost fumble in Denver's 10-7 home loss to the Patriots.
- Brees retired in March 2021 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this past summer, raising an unaddressed question of whether a return would have reset the Hall's mandatory five-year post-career waiting period.
Why it matters: Two Broncos assistants went behind their head coach's back to recruit a 47-year-old Hall of Famer for a conference championship game — and Brees was game for it until his wrist said no. The Broncos lost 10-7 with Stidham anyway, leaving one of the most improbable comebacks in NFL history as a "what if" and exposing how far coaching staffs will go for a Super Bowl shot without the head coach's sign-off.
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