Add The New York Post on Google Drew Brees’ attempt to suit up for the Broncos during the AFC Championship Game came crashing back to earth in one specific moment.
On Monday, it was revealed that Denver had initial talks with the 47-year-old Hall of Fame quarterback earlier this year after Bo Nix had been injured during the Divisional Round win over the Bills, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported.
But it was during a throwing session with his son Callen that he realized coming out of retirement was not in the cards for him.
Former NFL quarterback and 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Drew Brees looks on during the 15th Annual NFL Honors at the Palace Of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California, on Thursday, February 5, 2026. Getty Images “I started trying to rip the ball to him. And man, this shoulder and this right wrist are so wasted. I got no pop. So for people to say like, “Oh, I felt discomfort? Discomfort my butt, dude. I can’t throw 15 yards with any kind of pop,” Brees said, according to Ed Werder.
“There’s like 20 guys in that Broncos organization that I know and love would love nothing more than help them, you know, win a game to get to the get to Super Bowl and then go win that thing, man. I’d love to go up against that Mike Macdonald defense. So much respect for him. And so anyway, man, I was mentally ready. The rest of my body? Ready. But right arm and right wrist? They lost it a long time ago.”
The Broncos ended up having Jarrett Stidham under center for the AFC title game against New England, and the former fourth-round pick threw for 133 yards and a touchdown in the 10-7 loss to the Patriots, who went on to lose to Macdonald’s Seahawks in the Super Bowl.
While Brees, currently an NFL analyst for Fox, never ended up playing, the interest was there enough that he checked in with the Pro Football Hall of Fame in order to inquire whether playing again would impact his eligibility, he also told Werder.
The Super Bowl winner with the Saints did reveal in February during an appearance on the “New Heights” podcast that he had a near comeback, though he never shared which team reached out.
Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints throws a pass in the first quarter against the Carolina Panthers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Sunday, October 25, 2020. Getty Images “There was a moment this year … something happened where I thought there might be a chance I would play that week,” Brees said in the February episode. “I started thinking about going to bed early and getting up the next day and getting my body nice and loose and going out and throwing to see if I could even pull it off.”
He also told the story of throwing with his son and realizing he didn’t have it in him physically during the episode.
