Sean Payton: “Probably Very Unlikely” All Three QBs Are Back

Saints HC Sean Payton admitted Thursday that it’s “probably very unlikely” all three of their free agent quarterbacks will be back in 2020. 

“To have all three of those guys back is probably very unlikely,” Payton said Thursday, via NFL.com. “You really appreciate the season you had when you had all three of them.”

Drew Brees is still mulling over whether to return for the 2020 season or retire. He and Teddy Bridgewater are in line to be free agents this offseason and Taysom Hill will be a restricted free agent. 

Payton mentioned that Brees wants to take some time to decide before coming to a decision, but they would like to have him back. 

“We talked about this and it was something that I think most importantly for him he wanted a little bit of time to spend with his family,” Payton said of Brees. “I think none of us try to make any decisions when the season ends right away. You need a little bit of time after it. I think we’ll know sooner than later.

“It’s not anything about money, it’s not anything about other teams. It’s strictly the toll and the energy required to do what he does day in and day out during the football season and the sacrifices that involves relative to your family as well. I think with that information, we want him back. He played at an extremely high level and when he got hurt, Teddy Bridgewater went in and he was outstanding. So Teddy’s a free agent and fortunately we’ve got time before free agency.”

Should Brees return, it would appear as though Bridgewater is most likely to move on, considering that the Saints can match any offer Hill receives from another team. 

Earlier in the week, Jay Glazer mentioned that the Saints view Hill as their quarterback of the future.

“They do have their quarterback of the future on the roster too. That quarterback will be Taysom Hill. Taysom, they believe is a franchise quarterback, and especially you’ve seen what Lamar Jackson has been able to do, so they think they have him here,” Glazer said.

“But, Sean (Payton) has been very, very clear. If Drew wants it, we want Drew, we still want Drew as long as Drew wants to go. So, this isn’t a situation like the other guys where they’re kind of pushing them out the door, they are welcoming him with open arms if he wants to come back.”

Brees, 41, is a former second-round pick of the Chargers back in 2001. After five years with the Chargers, Brees signed on with the Saints as a free agent in 2006.

Brees has spent the past 12 seasons in New Orleans and played out the final year of his two-year, $50 million contract. He is set to be a free agent in the coming months. 

In 2019, Brees appeared in 11 games for the Saints and completed 74.3 percent of his passes for 2,979 yards, 27 touchdowns and four interceptions.

We have him featured in our Top 100 – 2020 Free Agents list.