Apparently those extremely cursed words almost came to fruition last season. The Broncos, who lost starting quarterback Bo Nix to an ankle fracture in their overtime playoff victory against the Buffalo Bills last January, tasked then-offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and offensive assistant Pete Carmichael to have discussions with Brees about the former star coming out of retirement to be ready for the AFC Championship Game, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Brees, 47, spoke to Lombardi and Carmichael, his longtime assistant coaches with the New Orleans Saints, early in the week ahead of their AFC Championship Game appearance against the New England Patriots, telling them that he wanted to work out to see how his body would respond.
Brees ultimately felt discomfort in his wrist and nixed the idea before it could ever gain any real traction. Brees, of course, announced his retirement in March 2021 and was selected for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Lombardi and Carmichael reportedly did not include head coach Sean Payton in the initial conversations, waiting to tell him in the offseason after Jarrett Stidham suffered the loss and kept Denver from advancing to Super Bowl LX.
"At a minimum, you sign [Brees], he's 1A or 1B. And Drew's point was: 'I know how to win a game like that,'" one source told Schefter. It's ultimately just a footnote in the long and storied history of the NFL, but if that plot came to fruition it would have undoubtedly been on of the more improbable things to ever happen in league history.
Instead of one-upping Philip Rivers and his out-of-nowhere comeback with the Indianapolis Colts, Brees chose to enjoy retirement and prepare for enshrinement in Canton, Ohio.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
