Longtime New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees enters the 2018 offseason as a free agent. But general manager Mickey Loomis made it clear that he wants Brees back in The Big Easy.
“We want him to be our quarterback, and we’ll get going on that at some point.” Loomis said, per Mike Triplett of ESPN. “There’s not a lot to say. Listen, he doesn’t have a contract, which has happened before. … We just finished our season. … We’ll get to it. I’m not anticipating any big issues, so we’ll see.”
Loomis is taking a sharply different path from Saints’ coach Sean Payton, who didn’t want to discuss Brees’ contract. For his part, Brees has made it known that he wants to play in New Orleans, despite the pleas of Joe Thomas.
Brees has shown virtually no signs of slowing down in recent years. He threw for 4,334 yards in 2017, which was his lowest total since 2005. But that was more due to perhaps the most balanced offense he’s ever quarterbacked than anything else. Brees set an NFL record for single-season completion percentage and the 8.1 yards per passing attempt was his highest total since 2011.