Hold up…Drew Brees is a lefty now? (No, not clickbait)
Great story from @drewbrees about how his famous shoulder injury in 2005 still impacts him today. pic.twitter.com/7xKXi99aZ9
— ESPN Radio (@ESPNRadio) November 21, 2023
Legendary former New Orleans Saints quarterback Brees made a recent appearance on ESPN Radio with Mike Greenberg, who asked the future Hall of Famer if he had heard from any NFL teams hoping to bring him out of retirement.
There was some chatter in the year after he hung up his cleats, Brees confided, but dropping back to pass like he used to is out of the question. The long-term impact of injuries in his playing career have made that impossible.
“I don’t throw with my right arm anymore, my right arm does not work,” Brees said. “When I throw in the backyard I throw left handed. I can play pickleball just because it’s below the waist. But anything above my shoulders I’ve got a hard time with. It’s probably, it’s definitely a result of the injury that I suffered when I left San Diego. The dislocated right shoulder, and all that stuff, that I thought I may never play again. But that put me on the fast track to degenerative shoulder, all kinds of arthritic changes, stuff like that.”
Brees added, “I don’t throw with my right arm anymore. If I could, absolutely I’d still be playing.”
That explains a lot. The Saints offense was a shadow of its former self in the final years of Brees’ playing career, condensing everything down tight to the formation and relying on quick and accurate passes to wear down opposing defenses. He wasn’t able to air it out like he used to and attack teams vertically. The heart may have been willing, but the body wasn’t able to keep going.
Years ago, way back in 2005, Brees dislocated his throwing shoulder and tore the cartilage in the joint when trying to recover a fumbled ball. The injury ended his Chargers career and threatened his future in pro football. During surgery, doctors found that Brees had suffered a partial rotator cuff tear, and the procedure suddenly became even more complicated (you can read more about it here).
That Brees was able to not just regain function in his shoulder but use it to throw his way into the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday is remarkable. It’s just a shame the wear and tear eventually took him out of the game before he could win another Super Bowl title.
