“It was a great success, but even successes come to a natural end” – Isaac Asimov
Drew Brees is in the final year of a deal that he plans on playing out, only re-assessing his future with the Saints at season’s end. Brees turned 38 in January and clearly the consecutive run of three straight 7-9 seasons is weighing on him. Brees conceded he was “not sure how much longer I can do this, tired of saying next year” back in January on the heels of yet another losing season. That quote, coming from Brees, might as well have been a verbal nuclear bomb when you consider he’s been nothing but the champion of positivism during his entire tenure in New Orleans. His sound bites at every turn have been bright side optimism laced with company line spin. No one can blame him for feelings of frustrating coming out of this past season but it was completely out of character considering his usual rhetoric. His age, the losing, his quotes, his contract and his approach to his contract all add up to a pretty clear path – he’ll seriously consider leaving (or maybe retiring?) if the Saints finish this season 7-9 or worse again.
The draft this week will serve as another fork in the road in Saints history, as always, and it could serve as a stay of execution of sorts for Brees. If the Saints nail the draft, benefit from great rookie play and it allows them to compete for a playoff spot – maybe the idea of staying in New Orleans is re-invigorated for Brees. Certainly that’s the next extremely important step in attempting to climb back to having a successful season. This draft will probably play a big hand in whether or not Brees is in a Saints uniform come 2018. But a good draft class is only part of it. Do the Saints draft a quarterback? That’s something to watch closely as well, of course, as chatter exists the Saints will consider taking a quarterback in the 1st round should they be pleased with the value when they pick. A quarterback taken in the 1st round wouldn’t necessarily solidify Brees leaving, but it would certainly show the Saints are preparing for life without him happening sooner than later.
Winning or losing aside, Drew Brees is the golden player standard like nothing this franchise has ever seen before. Regardless of what he does this year, and it will probably be another epic 5,000 yard passing season, he’s the greatest Saints player of all time by a country mile. Much respect to Willie Roaf and Rickey Jackson – both amazing players that I love – they don’t remotely come close to touching Brees during his career with the Saints. It would take a miracle for us to ever see anyone that remotely lives up to his tenure in any fashion whatsoever during our collective lifetime. While as fans we’re all desperate for immediate success and pained by the stagnation, I think it’s critical we enjoy every moment he steps on the field. I advise you to spring extra and go to a game this season. If you’re on the fence because the team is no good – go anyway, spend the extra bucks, bring your kid, so you can have that one last memory of #9 in a Saints uniform.
The reality is he’s definitely leaving. Sooner or later. And it’s probably sooner. It could easily happen as early as this season’s end. Enjoy the greatest Saint of all time while it lasts, because time is running out to do so.
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