On Friday, the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns said he’d be happy to return to the league as a part-time player in 2020.
Speaking to Chris Simms of NBC Sports, free-agent-to-be Drew Brees said that he’d be fine splitting reps at quarterback with Taysom Hill next season if they are both back in New Orleans with the Saints.
“If I’m back, and Taysom’s alongside me, call the plays that put us in the best position to win,” Brees said. “If that means Taysom Hill is taking 30 snaps a game, 25 snaps a game, so be it. I’m all for that.”
The 41-year-old QB’s remarks come on the heels of a report from ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio that New Orleans would like Brees back with the team in 2020 to ease the transition of Hill taking the reins at the position on a full-time basis in 2021.
“Even if Brees comes back,” Florio said. “Hill will be used much more extensively as part of the team’s offense in 2020 — especially in light of some private regret that, if Hill had been utilized just a little bit more in the wild-card loss to the (Minnesota) Vikings, the Saints quite likely would have won the game.”
Sources at ESPN also confirmed New Orleans has a real interest in using a two-quarterback system next season
“One more crack at a championship while continuing to develop Hill would satisfy the locker room and an aging but talented defense that is poised for another run at San Francisco,” according to The Worldwide Leader’s Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler.
If true, it’s a pretty ambitious plan, but one that doesn’t seem completely out of character for New Orleans coach Sean Payton.
For it to work, the Saints would have to bring back Brees and Hill, both of whom will hit free agency in March.
If Brees does play football in 2020, he’s said it will only be for the Saints. Should he retire, stepping into the broadcast booth could be an option.
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