The 2018 season had all the makings of a final go-round for Drew Brees.
His New Orleans Saints clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoff picture, securing home-field advantage for a potential Super Bowl run. He set the NFL’s all-time records for most pass completions and passing yards. He made his 12th Pro Bowl. And he reminded the rest of the league that he’s still among the greatest in the game, posting MVP-caliber numbers at age 39.
Fresh off a sour defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship, however, Brees said he isn’t done yet.
“I plan on being here next year and making another run at it,” he told reporters following the Saints’ season-ending loss, adding that he’s “pretty positive” he’ll be suiting up at age 40.
Playing quarterback into a fourth decade of life isn’t unheard of in the NFL (see: Brady, Tom), and considering Brees’ accomplishments in 2018, it’s no surprise he wants to keep going. While he wasn’t necessarily at his best in the NFC title game vs. the Rams defense, the two-time Offensive Player of the Year remains a staple of the Saints’ success.
He’s also been a longtime favorite off the field, where he’s had no qualms about sharing the faith that supersedes even his passion for football.
At 17 years old, Brees once told The Increase, he “accepted Jesus Christ in my heart and knew that there was something bigger planned for me than just sports.” Since then, he’s proclaimed 2 Corinthians 5:7 as a Bible verse to live by — “For we live by faith, not by sight” — and professed his trust in a divine plan for his career.
“We all want to be able to see, touch and feel things in order for them to be real,” Brees said. “As Christians, we have to understand that God has a plan for us, though at times we will not understand it or agree with it. Yet with our trust and faith in Him, we know that this is part of our journey, and He will lead us and develop us into who He meant for us to be.”
Originally drafted by the San Diego Chargers in 2001, Brees spent the first five years of his NFL career out west before signing with the Saints. The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year honoree his first season in New Orleans, the former Purdue star has become a model of quarterbacking consistency since then, leading the NFL in passing yards a record seven times, posting five different 5,000-yard seasons and winning Super Bowl XLIV in 2009.
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