Judging just by his last glance at the Superdome following the Saints' loss to the Buccaneers in the divisional round, Drew Brees has likely played his last snap in the NFL. Retirement has been looming over the veteran quarterback throughout the 2020 season with the entire league being under the assumption -- thanks to bountiful rumors -- that this was the last kick at the can for No. 9. While it's widely expected that New Orleans will eventually call a press conference where Brees officially announces his retirement, no such occasion has happened yet.
As we wait for that moment, the Saints don't appear ready to tip Brees' hand by making a splash for another quarterback to replace him. With it being so early in the offseason, they are simply going to let things play out with Brees before taking the next step at addressing that position.
"I don't think it's a lot different from last year. We'll wait for him," GM Mickey Loomis told reporters Wednesday, via NFL.com.
Brees himself has said that he is going to take some time before coming to a definitive decision, which, as Loomis noted, is similar to last offseason where he also mulled retirement. Brees took until Feb. 18 to announce that he was returning for the 2020 season, so we could still be a few weeks away from this latest decision if he follows a similar timetable. If he decides to go in the other direction this time around, Loomis will be tasked with replacing the franchise icon.
"The answers to that will kick out over the next few weeks as we go through evaluations and we talk about our roster, talk about every position," Loomis said when asked about who may carry the torch going forward if Brees retires. "Generally speaking, we target our own guys first. But again, the answers to that remain to be seen, and we'll get the answers to that over the next few weeks."
Of course, New Orleans does have Taysom Hill under contract, who started for the Saints when Brees missed four games this season. Hill went 3-1 as a starter over that stretch, but there are still some questions about whether or not he can truly be a franchise centerpiece. The club could look to continue to use Hill as a gadget player and pair him with a more dynamic passer. To fill that, they could continue to look in-house and bring back Jameis Winston, who spent the season behind Brees. Winston is set to be a free agent this offseason, but New Orleans could make him a compelling offer if they see him as a future starter.
"Again, all that evaluation and what happens with that still remains to be seen," Loomis said. "We'll talk about every position again. But look, we like Taysom, we like Jameis, we like what they did for us. But again, just like every other position, we're going to have a lot of discussions over the next week or two and move on from there."
Essentially, Brees needs to be the first domino to fall before the Saints can move forward. Once his situation is a bit clearer, the foundation of New Orleans' future will start to take shape.
