The NFL season is not quite underway yet, but there was some buzz last season that NFL legend and former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees could come out of retirement.
But Brees recently revealed the reason why he will not come out of retirement.
Why Drew Brees Is Staying Retired
Brees was a living legend in the NFL, as he spent the majority of his career with the New Orleans Saints, totaling 80,358 passing yards, 571 touchdown passes, and 243 interceptions. He also defeated the Indianapolis Colts in the 2009 season for his only Super Bowl ring.
Knowing that there was buzz in the previous season that Brees might come out of retirement, he recently went on the “Bussin’ with the Boys” podcast to discuss why he is staying retired. The reason he is staying retired might open some fans’ eyes.
“Well, look, I would know where to throw it, I just don’t know if I could get it there. That’s one lingering effect from the shoulder surgery,” Brees said. “I don’t throw with my right arm anymore. I actually throw left-handed. I kind of started doing that towards the end of my career.
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“Just with my kids, because I come home after a long day of practice and I didn’t have anything left in my right arm… But the boys want to play catch. I throw left-handed. I’m pretty mean inside of 30 with this left arm.”
Brees threw right-handed his whole career in New Orleans, and he could be considered one of the smoothest and purest passers that the NFL ever saw. The fact that he had shoulder surgery and no longer throws with the arm that he did in the NFL speaks to how it affected him and his body.
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If Brees were to come out of retirement in today’s NFL, he could be ranked in the top 10 of current quarterbacks who play. Even if he were throwing left-handed in the NFL after having surgery on his shoulder, he would still be dominant.
The fact that Brees only won one ring after all the years that he played in the NFL, and how many stats he put up, is astonishing. But the fact that he can still play with his kids and throw with his other arm speaks to how committed Brees is and was to the game of football.
Brees was very deserving of a nomination in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and will go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play.