Drew Brees, the quarterback with the most passing yards in the history of the NFL with 80,358, he has announced his retirement through a post on his social networks.
“After 20 years as an NFL player and 15 years as a Saint, it is time for me to retire from football,” reads his farewell message from the grills.
Brees came to the league as a second-round pick in the 2001 San Diego Chargers draft. He played for them for five seasons in which he was once selected to the Pro-Bowl. After a spectacular injury to his right shoulder, Brees returned in 2006 wearing the men’s jersey. Saints, which he dressed for the last 15 years of his career.
Once in New Orleans, led by Sean Payton at the controls, Brees gave the organization the first and only Super Bowl in its history in the edition XLIV, of which he was named the Most Valuable Player after completing 32 of 39 attempts for 288 yards and a pair of touchdowns, in addition to a rating of 114.5 points in the final game.
His 82.1% of completions in the Super Bowl is the second highest figure in history, behind only Phil Simms (88%, XXI).
In recent days the Saints restructured the quarterback’s contract. According to ESPN, the agreement had a reduction of 23.925 million dollars to free up salary space for the new season.
The last game of his career was a Divisional Round matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In it, he completed 19 of 34 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown for three interceptions.
Injuries
The past two seasons, Brees had to deal with injuries that kept him off the field. A right thumb injury led to his absence for five games in which Teddy Bridgewater took control of the team at the position behind center. This past season he suffered from multiple rib fractures and pneumothorax. Taysom Hill took his place.
Legacy
Brees’ 571 touchdowns are the second-highest in league history. Only Tom Brady surpasses him, with 581.
Nine of the Saints’ 10 postseason victories were with Brees as the team’s quarterback.
Also on the all-time list, Brees ranks fourth among most successful quarterbacks (172). Brady (230), Brett Favre (186) and Peyton Manning (186) are ahead of him, while Ben Roethlisberger (156) follows in fifth place.
Brees racked up 13 Pro-Bowl selections and a first-team All-Pro nomination. In addition, he was recognized with the Walter Payton Award for his work in Louisiana after the disastrous Hurricane Katrina.
Although Brees was on the downside in his last appearances, the quarterback leaves a legacy hard to match with the Saints and a track record that forces him to make a stop in Canton, Ohio. While that comes, the Purdue graduate has already secured his space in the television booths.