Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton stated that he had no prior knowledge of an improbable comeback attempt by retired quarterback Drew Brees before the AFC Championship Game in January, learning of the outreach only well after two assistant coaches approached the 47-year-old Hall of Famer about returning following Bo Nix’s season-ending injury.
The Behind-the-Scenes Outreach Ahead of the AFC Title Game
When starting quarterback Bo Nix suffered a season-ending injury during the divisional round victory against the Bills—initially reported as an ankle injury by some accounts and a foot injury by others—two Denver Broncos assistant coaches set an improbable plan in motion. Former New Orleans Saints coaches Joe Lombardi and Pete Carmichael reached out to retired quarterback Drew Brees to gauge his interest in coming out of retirement to lead the Broncos through the conference championship, ESPN reported before Denver’s season opener against Kansas City.
The inquiry immediately ran into severe logistical and physical hurdles. Brees, who officially entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in July with Payton presenting him, participated in a workout after being approached by his former coaches to see whether his body was up to the enormous task. That session ended when Brees experienced wrist discomfort, causing him to pull the plug on the idea. Furthermore, legal and procedural complications loomed over the scheme. Because Brees remained on the New Orleans Saints’ reserve-retired list, signing him would have been impossible without release, and his acquisition would have required him to pass through waivers if willing, alongside a potential tampering issue arising from Lombardi and Carmichael contacting Brees presumably without permission from the Saints.
Sean Payton Disclaims Knowledge of the Plan
Head coach Sean Payton maintained that he was entirely left out of the discussions while preparing his squad for the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots. Speaking to reporters on Monday night following a 31-10 loss to the Chiefs, Payton made it clear that the coaching staff’s backchannel communication happened completely without his input or awareness.
“I just know that I was the odd man out, I never heard anything about it. It never came to anything. I was only told about it later, so I was just like you guys.”
Sean Payton, Denver Broncos Head Coach
Without Brees as an option, the Broncos turned to backup Jarrett Stidham in Nix’s place to direct the offense against New England. The team ultimately fell short in a 10-7 defeat.
Staff Turnover and the Long Shadow of New Orleans History
The clandestine outreach highlights the deep ties remaining from the long-standing partnership between Brees and Payton, who spent 15 seasons together in New Orleans and captured the franchise’s first Super Bowl title in 2009 alongside nine playoff appearances.
Following the conclusion of the season, the episode served as a reminder of why retired players must find a way to get released so they can return at any time—explaining why Philip Rivers was able to rejoin the Colts late last year—while placement on the reserve-retired list severely complicates a potential return to play for another team. Meanwhile, the fallout in Denver’s coaching room saw Payton fire Lombardi after the season, leading to his current role as a senior offensive assistant with the Baltimore Ravens, while Carmichael left Denver in February to become the offensive coordinator with the Buffalo Bills.
The physical realities facing Brees ultimately rendered the discussion academic. By his final season in New Orleans in 2020, Brees suffered 11 fractured ribs and a collapsed lung, and in 2023 he revealed to ESPN that his right arm was in such bad shape that he could no longer make throws with it due to shoulder degeneration from previous injuries, a detail overlooked by the initial report alongside the impossibility of signing a player stuck on the reserve-retired list.
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