Drew Brees shoots down return to Saints with Jameis Winston injured, believes Trevor Siemian can get job done

Do not financial institution on Drew Brees making a return to the NFL, even with the New Orleans Saints beginning quarterback job doubtlessly out there. With Jameis Winston probably misplaced for the season with a knee damage, Brees was requested in the course of the halftime present on “Sunday Night time Soccer” if he’d contemplate a return to the Saints. 

The long run Corridor of Fame quarterback and present NBC analyst mentioned he’ll be calling the Notre-Dame-Navy sport Saturday and might be within the studio Sunday, fulfilling his obligations with the community. In different phrases, he will not be returning to his former job as quarterback of the Saints.

New Orleans is within the midst of a playoff run after Sunday’s upset win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, shifting to inside a half sport of the defending Super Bowl champions for the division lead. The Saints have one of many league’s high defenses, however an unsure quarterback scenario with Winston’s knee damage, which coach Sean Payton called ‘significant’ and is reportedly to his ACL. Taysom Hill continues to be battling a concussion and did not play in Week 8, leaving Trevor Siemian and rookie Ian Book as the one choices on the roster till Hill returns.  

Siemian performed admirably within the win Sunday, finishing 16 of 29 passses for 159 yards with a landing and nil interceptions. Payton’s aggressiveness did not change with Siemian at quarterback, going for it on fourth down twice on the workforce’s opening drive within the third quarter — changing each. Siemian had thrown simply six passes in a sport for the reason that begin of the 2019 season previous to Sunday. 

“I feel he will do effectively,” Brees mentioned on the halftime present, via Patrick McGee of NOLA.com. “That is precisely why he introduced him in final yr after I obtained harm. He is a cerebral man who can choose up the system rapidly. He can execute it. 

“The underside line is he has two actually good working backs and an important protection. He’ll play inside the system and I feel Sean Payton has a whole lot of confidence in him.”

Payton backed up Brees’ assertion after Sunday’s win. The Saints may have a beginning quarterback going ahead, however Payton did examine Siemian’s scenario to when Ty Detmer was quarterbacking the Philadelphia Eagles within the late Nineteen Nineties — again when Payton was the workforce’s quarterbacks coach. 

“He is by no means (flustered), he is simply (indicators to point out even-keeled). It is a good trait for him,” Payton mentioned. “It was not excellent. There have been a variety of issues that we’re going to have the ability to coach off of the tape on. 

“I believed we performed with power, and that was an enormous concern of mine coming off of the Monday evening west coast journey. I believed we performed with a whole lot of power.”