On Monday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Broncos approached Drew Brees about coming out of retirement to play for Denver in the AFC Championship Game against the Patriots after Bo Nix's season-ending injury.
The entire story led to some conflicting reports, but it sounds like Brees wouldn't have been able to play even if he had wanted to ... for multiple reasons.
According to Ed Werder, Brees — who had just turned 47 — wanted to see if he could even physically put himself in a position to consider playing. But Brees said that he couldn't throw a football 15 yards with the kind of velocity needed to play in an NFL game. The notion of a comeback ended at that point. (Note: Expand tweet for the full text)
HOF QB Drew Brees tells me he was
contacted by former Saints coaches on Sean Payton’s staff about playing in the AFC Championship Game for injured Bo Nix the morning after Dan Fouts did the door knock informing him he was voted into the HOF. Brees jokingly checked with HOF CEO…
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdNFL) September 15, 2026
And even if Brees felt physically able to play at a competitive level, league rules would have likely prevented it. As Pro Football Talk pointed out, Brees was on the Saints’ reserve-retired list. The Broncos reaching out to him could have also led to tampering issues.
Brees couldn't throw anyway, so the whole story didn't have much to it.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Drew Brees wouldn't have been ready for AFC title game regardless of Broncos' interest
