It’s been a long time since the New Orleans Saints were a playoff-caliber team.
They’ve struggled to succeed without Drew Brees, which is usually what happens to teams that lose a Hall of Fame quarterback.
However, things could’ve been quite different.
Brees recently admitted that he almost quit football after suffering a shoulder injury with the San Diego Chargers early in his career.
“That was truly a moment where I felt like my dream was just being ripped away. That I would never play football again,” Brees said.
Drew Brees almost didn’t play football after his shoulder injury in San Diego pic.twitter.com/XgpdJTCUt0
— Bussin’ With The Boys (@BussinWTB) October 27, 2025
Ultimately, he made his way to New Orleans, and the rest is history.
While most people often focused on Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, Brees was consistently among the league leaders in every passing category.
He helped the Saints to their only Super Bowl championship and established himself as one of the most proficient passers and cerebral players of all time.
He’s also the measuring stick for shorter quarterbacks, although none has been as good as him.
Football is a contact sport, and as such, every player is always one snap, one move, and one hit away from potentially not being able to play again.
Fortunately, that wasn’t the case for Brees.
He was able to recover and make the most of the opportunity he was given once he finally became a starting quarterback.
