After a year away from the sport and with his broadcast career seemingly suffering a setback, Drew Brees teased a potential NFL return on Sunday.
Future Hall of Famer Brees posted on Twitter that he was "undecided" on his future amid reports of his time as an analyst for NBC coming to an end.
He wrote: "Despite speculation from media about my future this fall, I’m currently undecided.
"I may work for NBC, I may play football again, I may focus on business and philanthropy, I may train for the pickleball tour, senior golf tour, coach my kids or all of the above. I'll let you know."
Brees called it a career after the 2020 season - his 15th with the New Orleans Saints - and, while the competitive fire may still burn for an all-time great, the numbers suggest the correct course of action for the 43-year-old would be to stay retired.
Unlike Tom Brady, who swiftly unretired 40 days after announcing his decision to quit in the wake of one of the best seasons of his storied career, Brees endured one of his most underwhelming campaigns in 2020.
Brees remained extremely accurate, completing 70.5 per cent of his passes and delivering an accurate, well-thrown ball on 81.1 per cent of pass attempts.
However, he averaged only 6.41 air yards per attempt, the fourth-fewest among quarterbacks to attempt at least 50 passes.
His 31 completions of 20 yards or more were fewer than that of then-San Francisco 49ers backup Nick Mullens (33). Brees attempted just 21 passes of 21 air yards or more, illustrating an inability to push the ball downfield as his arm strength faded in the final years of his career.
Were Brees to make a comeback, he may not be able to do so with the Saints, who re-signed Jameis Winston to a two-year deal this offseason.
Saints head coach Dennis Allen said of Brees' tweet about a possible comeback: "I think it was a comment made in jest, and we certainly haven't had any conversations in that regard."
Given the age and the numbers from his most recent season, talk of a Brees return is indeed tough to take seriously.
Packers, QB Love agree to four-year, $220m contract
Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers have agreed to a four-year extension worth $220million, tying him as the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history, according to multiple sources.
Love, who has only had one full season as an NFL starter, will earn $55m annually with $155m guaranteed and a $75m signing bonus, also the largest in league history.
His yearly salary ties him with Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow and Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence for highest in NFL history.
After finally trading Aaron Rodgers in April 2023, Love, 25, became the Packers’ undisputed starter. He struggled through the first seven games last season and Green Bay were 2-5 but he took off and the Packers finished 9-8 and earned a wild-card spot.
In the Packers’ final eight games of the regular season, Love had 16 touchdowns and one interception. In a 48-32 playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys, he had a near-perfect 157.2 passer rating with 16 of 21 completions for 272 yards, three touchdowns and no picks.
Love completed 372 of 579 passes (64.2%) for 4,159 yards last season with 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
His 32 TD passes ranked second in the NFL behind Dallas’ Dak Prescott (36).
All that production came while Love was throwing to the most productive, young group of receivers since at least 1970. The Packers’ 302 receptions, 3,642 receiving yards and 31 receiving touchdowns are the most by a team’s group of first-or second-year pass catchers since the AFL/NFL merger.
Green Bay also became the youngest team in that same span to win a playoff game with an average age of 25 years and 214 days.
Packers, QB Love agree to 4-year, $220 million contract
Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers have agreed to a four-year extension worth $220 million, tying him as the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history, according to multiple sources.
Love, who has only had one full season as an NFL starter, will earn $55 million annually with $155 million guaranteed and a $75 million signing bonus, also the largest in league history.
His yearly salary ties him with Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow and Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence for highest in NFL history.
After finally trading Aaron Rodgers in April 2023, Love, 25, became the Packers’ undisputed starter. He struggled through the first seven games last season and Green Bay was 2-5 but he took off and the Packers finished 9-8 and earned a wild card spot.
In the Packers’ final eight games of the regular season, Love had 16 touchdowns and one interception. In a 48-32 playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys, he had a near-perfect 157.2 passer rating with 16 of 21 completions for 272 yards, three touchdowns and no picks.
Love completed 372 of 579 passes (64.2 percent) for 4,159 yards last season with 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
His 32 TD passes ranked second in the NFL behind Dallas’ Dak Prescott (36).
All that production came while Love was throwing to the most productive, young group of receivers since at least 1970. The Packers’ 302 receptions, 3,642 receiving yards and 31 receiving touchdowns are the most by a team’s group of first-or second-year pass catchers since the AFL/NFL merger.
Green Bay also became the youngest team in that same span to win a playoff game with an average age of 25 years and 214 days.
Dolphins extend Tua Tagovailoa on 4-year, $212M deal
The Miami Dolphins and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa have agreed to a four-year, $212.4million contract extension, multiple media outlets reported Friday.
The contract, which is the largest in franchise history, reportedly includes $167million in guarantees, which ranks eighth among NFL quarterbacks.
With a long-term deal in place, Tagovailoa can focus on preparing for the upcoming season. He had been a minimal participant in Miami’s initial training camp sessions.
Drafted fifth overall out of Alabama, Tagovailoa has had a passer rating over 100 in each of the last two seasons and answered durability concerns by starting all 17 games last year.
While some pundits had been hesitant to endorse a large extension for Tagovailoa, but Dolphins general manager Chris Grier was determined to keep the left-hander in Miami.
"We're strong believers in him. And you guys all feel [coach Mike McDaniel's] passion about him when he talks about him," Grier said in February.
"Just in the two years of what he's done, he's grown in areas to where he led the league in passing and did some great things this year. And we all feel there's still another level he can take it.
"The way he's attacked this and wants to be great, and the combination of Mike and working with that and that trust and belief in each other, we do think there's still another level which he could go."
Tagovailoa completed 69.3 percent of his passes last season for 4,624 yards, 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions while leading the Dolphins to an 11-6 record. The Dolphins’ play-off appearance was brief, ending in a 26-7 loss in frigid Kansas City in the wild-card round.
Since McDaniel took over as head coach, Tagovailoa ranks fourth in the NFL in passing yards (8,172), fifth in passing touchdowns (54) and second in passer rating (102.9).
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