Latest news with #Brees
Time of India
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Time of India
How Hall of Fame QB Drew Brees' career-ending injury left his throwing arm permanently damaged
This one hurts and not just for Saints fans. Drew Brees, one of the greatest quarterbacks in history, recently resurfaced in headlines after an old interview clip went viral again. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now In it, he admitted that his right arm, the one that threw for 80,000+ yards and 571 touchdowns 'doesn't work anymore. ' Yeah, read that again. It turns out the damage from that brutal 2005 shoulder injury never really healed the way we thought. And now, Brees says that when he's just casually tossing the ball in his backyard, he has to throw left-handed. It's heartbreaking, and fans are only now realizing how much that man gave to the game. Drew Brees says his 2005 injury left him with a degenerative shoulder that ended his arm for good Let's rewind for context. Back in 2005, Brees suffered a nasty shoulder injury with the Chargers, a complete 360-degree labrum tear and a partial rotator cuff tear. Doctors weren't sure if he'd ever play again. But Brees shocked the world with a comeback that led him to New Orleans and to football immortality. Fast forward to a 2023 interview on ESPN Radio, and Brees opened up about what that injury did long-term. He said: 'I don't throw with my right arm anymore. My right arm does not work. So, when I throw in the backyard right now, I throw left-handed.' He added that the shoulder has developed arthritic changes and has degenerative issues that forced him to call it quits even though mentally, he felt he had more football left. Fans are calling it 'heartbreaking,' 'gutting,' and 'a reminder of what players sacrifice.' Others are pointing out that this is exactly why Brees retired when he did not because he was done mentally, but because his body simply gave out. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The man gave everything to the game and the damage was permanent Brees may have walked away with a Super Bowl ring and a Hall of Fame legacy, but he also walked away with a right arm that's no longer functional. That's the trade-off. And now that fans are hearing it directly from him again, it's hitting differently. It's easy to forget what NFL players put their bodies through until someone like Drew Brees casually reminds us that he can't even play catch with his kids using the arm that made him a legend. This isn't just a football story. It's a reminder of the toll greatness takes. Also read -
USA Today
12-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
This 87-yard TD from Drew Brees to Brandin Cooks is the Saints Play of the Day
This 87-yard TD from Drew Brees to Brandin Cooks is the Saints Play of the Day Drew Brees threw for 465 yards and still almost lost We're continuing to count down the days remaining until the New Orleans Saints kick off their 2025 season with Day 87, which makes this 87-yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees to Brandin Cooks our choice for the Saints Play of the Day. Every yard and point gained on the play ended up counting in a last-second win against the Carolina Panthers. Sure, things got off to a good start. The Saints offense banged out 21 unanswered points to take a quick lead, including this great pass from Brees to Cooks down the sideline (which you can see here). Cam Newton threw an interception to Sterling Moore in the New Orleans end zone in response. Then things got goofy. Carolina orchestrated five scoring drives of 50-plus yards each and put the Saints defense on its heels; they kept up a frenzied pace and scored 21 points of their own in the fourth quarter to close the gap. It took a 52-yard field goal from Wil Lutz with just 11 seconds left in regulation to break the 38-38 tie and put the game away. That was the way games went for the Saints in the mid-2010's. Brees threw for 465 yards and four scores, with Cooks accounting for 173 of those yards, and New Orleans still nearly lost at home. This was Dennis Allen's first year as the full-time defensive coordinator after Rob Ryan was ousted midway through the 2015 season, and they still had a lot of work to do on that side of the ball. Things would eventually settle down and even turn into a strength, defensively, but in the meantime New Orleans needed every deep shot from Brees to Cooks they could connect.
Indianapolis Star
06-06-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Anthony Richardson's latest injury shows why Colts brought in Daniel Jones
INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts knew they had to prepare for something like this. Even though the team had no way of knowing Anthony Richardson's surgically repaired right shoulder would suddenly develop into a problem again this summer. But one of the lessons of Richardson's first two NFL seasons is that the possibility of injury cannot be ignored, and while everybody outside the building has spent most of their time debating the merits of an open competition based on the inconsistencies of Richardson's development, the reality is Richardson's injury history played a central, inescapable role in the team's decision to sign Daniel Jones. Indianapolis hasn't been trying to hide its motivation. 'The No. 1 thing we have to figure out, and what Anthony's got to work through, is staying healthy,' GM Chris Ballard said in January. 'He's got to be able to stay healthy. And that to me, is probably the biggest question right now, because now we're going on two seasons in a row where he's dealt with injuries.' Predicting a player's ability to stay healthy might be an NFL general manager's toughest task. For every player who can't shake the injury bug, there's an exception to the rule. Drew Brees couldn't get Miami's team doctors to clear his surgically repaired right shoulder after a devastating injury in San Diego; Brees signed with the Saints instead and didn't miss a game due to injury for the next nine seasons. Matthew Stafford played in just 13 of a possible 32 games in his first two seasons with Detroit, undergoing the same surgery to repair his AC joint that Richardson went through as a rookie, then played every game for the next eight seasons. The Colts could hope for a story like Brees or Stafford. Indianapolis had to prepare for the possibility that Richardson's injury issues would continue. 'We've got to have competition at the position, just for one, for the fact that competition makes everybody better,' Ballard said in January. 'And then two, he's not proven he can play 17 games.' The actual numbers are worse. Richardson has missed 17 of a possible 34 games in his first two seasons due to injury. Drafted with the No. 4 pick in 2023 to develop into the franchise quarterback the Colts desperately need, Richardson missed a game with a concussion as a rookie, suffered a sprained AC joint that cost him the rest of his rookie season, got knocked to the sideline for two more games by a Pittsburgh hit in October of 2024 and then missed the final two games of the season due to back spasms that stemmed from a disc issue discovered on an MRI. A midseason benching in 2024 somewhat complicates the numbers. But Richardson has never started more than five games in a row in the NFL. When Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen kept saying the team needed consistency at the position this offseason, most people thought about Richardson's accuracy issues. Consistency is also about having the same quarterback in the huddle for more than five games at a time. For all of the justifiable criticism about the Colts' decision to hand a raw prospect like Richardson the starting job right away, the injuries have arguably limited the young quarterback's development more than any other factor, and it goes beyond Richardson losing an entire offseason to rehabilitation after his rookie season. An NFL coaching staff typically needs half a season to learn a new quarterback, find what he does best and tailor the offense to his skill set. When Steichen was Philadelphia's offensive coordinator, the Eagles treaded water for the first half of the 2021 season, then made drastic, sweeping changes to the offense and set Jalen Hurts on a path to a Super Bowl. Philadelphia is far from the only team to go through that cycle. Green Bay's Jordan Love didn't hit his stride until midway through his first season as a starter. Houston's C.J. Stroud had to go through a rough October stretch as a rookie. Before Richardson arrived in Indianapolis, the post-Andrew Luck Colts often started slow with a new quarterback at the helm each year, then found a rhythm once the staff had time to learn the quarterback's tendencies and tailor the offense to his skill set. Injuries haven't given Steichen and the rest of the Colts offensive staff a chance to learn Richardson the same way. A surprising start to his rookie season was cut short by the sprained AC joint he suffered in 2023. Indianapolis spent too much time hunting the big play after Richardson's eye-popping highlights in the opener against Houston, but he was also knocked out of the Pittsburgh game just three weeks later, throwing the offensive picture into chaos for the rest of the season. The Colts headed into the offseason looking for something they could count on at quarterback. Anthony Richardson injury: Colts QB Anthony Richardson to miss mandatory minicamp due to injury to throwing shoulder ''I think it's the most consistent guy,' Steichen said at the beginning of the quarterback competition in April. 'At the end of the day, you've got to be able to move the football consistently up and down the field, and (be) making good decisions, you know what I mean? … You can have splash plays, but if you're doing that sparingly and up and down – I think it's got to be on a consistent basis, to get to where we want to go.' Availability is a key component of consistency, and it is still too early to know how Richardson's latest setback will affect him moving forward. The Colts have set no timetable for Richardson's return, although Steichen believes the quarterback will be back at some point in training camp. The possibility remains that this week's shoulder injury ends up being the final hurdle before Richardson puts his injury issues behind him. But Indianapolis can't bet on that happening.
USA Today
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Drew Brees' sixth touchdown in a single game is the Saints Play of Day 96
Drew Brees' sixth touchdown in a single game is the Saints Play of Day 96 TD No. 6 from QB No. 9 is our pick for Saints Play of the Day There are 96 days to go until the New Orleans Saints start their 2025 regular season, which means we're highlighting Drew Brees (who wore No. 9, of course) and touchdown pass No. 6 against the Detroit Lions back in 2009, which you can see here. The game was surprisingly competitive. Coming off a winless 2008 campaign, the Lions put up a great fight and were battling the Saints hard deep into the second half. Then Brees and the New Orleans offense showed why they were ready to go win a Super Bowl by putting the game out of reach in the fourth quarter. Brees threw six touchdown passes on the day. While his sixth wasn't the most impressive throw of his career, it exemplified everything he and the Saints offense did well that season. Brees dropped back, buying time on a delayed screen to fullback Heath Evans. His timing was perfect and Evans caught the pass to turn uphill with many blockers in front of him. No team ran the screen better than the Saints did in 2009. Center Jonathan Goodwin and right guard Jahri Eavns were the first on the scene, bulldozing a couple of Lions defenders out of the way so Evans could work his way to the sideline -- putting just enough of an angle on the defense to where he could tiptoe into the end zone for a score. That put the tally at 44-27, and a John Carney field goal pushed it one point further. The Saints won their season opener, put the NFL on notice, and started a journey that ended with Brees hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
USA Today
24-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
ESPN analyst, former Falcons cornerback catches heat for awful Drew Brees take
ESPN analyst, former Falcons cornerback catches heat for awful Drew Brees take ESPN personality Domonique Foxworth was a guest on the Mina Kimes show, and the podcast started with a conversation around Shedeur Sanders' draft stock. Naturally, the New Orleans Saints were a topic of conversation. The Saints don't seem to be interested and neither Foxworth or Kimes seems to believe they should be. Foxworth simply doesn't believe Sanders is "a guy." He follows that up by saying "the Saints fans are comfortable. They won a Super Bowl with a guy who threw within five yards of the line of scrimmage, so maybe New Orleans is the perfect place for a Shedeur." Drew Brees may have had low air yards at the end of his career, but to place his entire career under that stigma is revisionist history. The Saints didn't win a Super Bowl with a quarterback who threw within five yards of the line of scrimmage. They won a Super Bowl with a quarterback with the second highest air yards in the league that year. In 2009, Brees averaged 8.9 air yards per attempt. The only person who had a higher number was Philip Rivers. It's not as if this was an anomaly either. Brees averaged 9 air yards per attempt nearly a decade later in 2018. Adding to the layer of disappointment, Foxworth played in the league during the earlier part of Brees' career. This take may have been acceptable from someone who started watching football in 2019, but Foxworth played Brees multiple times and even shared the division with him at multiple points. The statement wasn't hyperbolic. It was disrespectful and a poor summation of Brees career. In trying to express why Sanders wasn't "a guy," Foxworth threw in one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time and a future first ballot hall of famer as a reference point. The comparison was poor, and the point was false.
