NEW ORLEANS — Drew Brees, who turned 40 on Tuesday, hopes to still be playing at age 41.
When asked how positive he is that he will be back for a 19th season, the New Orleans Saints quarterback said, “I feel pretty positive.”
He later said more definitively that, “I plan on being here next year and making another run at it.”
“My mind’s not even there right now. So this is all pretty fresh,” Brees said after the Saints’ 26-23 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game. “But [I’m] just going to take a few days to kind of let it all settle in, talk with my teammates and my coaches. But I plan on being here next year and making another run at it.”
When asked if the fact that he doesn’t know how many more chances he’ll get to play in a Super Bowl makes the loss even harder, Brees replied, “Yes it does. Yes it does.”
Brees, who has one year remaining on the two-year contract he signed this past offseason, had one of the best seasons of his career in 2018, with a personal-best passer rating of 115.7. And he broke Peyton Manning’s NFL record for career passing yards in the process. But he and the Saints’ season came to a stunning end — thanks to a controversial no-call by the officials late in regulation and Brees’ own interception during overtime.
Brees was hit as he threw by Rams pass rusher Dante Fowler Jr., and the ball fluttered in the air before being caught by safety John Johnson III. The Rams kicked the game-winning field goal five plays later.
“Unfortunately, getting your arm hit and the ball flying up in the air, that’s a tough way to give the ball back to them in overtime,” said Brees, who was asked how tough it is to end his season on a play like that.
“Yeah, it’s tough. It’s tough,” Brees said, followed by a long pause. “I thought we had a chance to go down and get points and a touchdown to win the game.”
When asked if the fact that he doesn’t know how many more chances he’ll get to play in a Super Bowl makes the loss even harder, Brees replied, “Yes it does. Yes it does.”
Brees, who has one year remaining on the two-year contract he signed this past offseason, had one of the best seasons of his career in 2018, with a personal-best passer rating of 115.7. And he broke Peyton Manning’s NFL record for career passing yards in the process. But he and the Saints’ season came to a stunning end — thanks to a controversial no-call by the officials late in regulation and Brees’ own interception during overtime.
Brees was hit as he threw by Rams pass rusher Dante Fowler Jr., and the ball fluttered in the air before being caught by safety John Johnson III. The Rams kicked the game-winning field goal five plays later.
“Unfortunately, getting your arm hit and the ball flying up in the air, that’s a tough way to give the ball back to them in overtime,” said Brees, who was asked how tough it is to end his season on a play like that.
“Yeah, it’s tough. It’s tough,” Brees said, followed by a long pause. “I thought we had a chance to go down and get points and a touchdown to win the game.”
