Drew Brees

"Brees" redirects here. For the surname, including a list people with the name, see Brees (surname).

Drew Brees
refer to caption
Brees in 2020
No. 9
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1979-01-15) January 15, 1979 (age 45)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:209 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school:Westlake
(Austin, Texas)
College:Purdue (1997–2000)
NFL draft:2001 / round: 2 / pick: 32
Career history
As a player:
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards
NFL records
Career NFL statistics
Passing attempts:10,551
Passing completions:7,142
Completion percentage:67.7%
TD–INT:571–243
Passing yards:80,358
Passer rating:98.7
Rushing yards:752
Rushing touchdowns:25
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Drew Christopher Brees (/briːz/; born January 15, 1979) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons.[3] A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees is second all-time in career passing yards, career touchdown passes, career pass completions, and career completion percentage.[4] Brees also holds the record of consecutive games with a touchdown pass, breaking the record held by Johnny Unitas for 52 years. He is regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.[5][6][7]

Brees played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers, where he set the Big Ten Conference records for completions, attempts, and yards. Due to questions over his height and arm strength, he was not selected until the second round of the 2001 NFL draft by the San Diego Chargers. Brees initially struggled before having a breakout season in 2004, earning him Pro Bowl and Comeback Player of the Year honors. Re-signed to a one-year contract, Brees suffered a potentially career-ending injury the following season, which resulted in the Chargers allowing him to leave in free agency. Joining the Saints, he brought new success to a franchise that had only seven winning seasons, five playoff appearances, and one postseason win during the 39 years prior to his arrival. From 2006 to 2020, Brees led the Saints to nine playoff appearances, seven division titles (including four consecutive from 2017 to 2020), three NFC Championship Game appearances, and the franchise's first title in Super Bowl XLIV, earning him the game's MVP award.[8]

By the conclusion of his 15 seasons in New Orleans, Brees had extended his total Pro Bowl selections to 13 and was twice named Offensive Player of the Year. He also led the NFL in passing yards a record seven times. Brees retired after the 2020 season and spent the following year as an analyst on NBC Sunday Night Football.[9][10] He returned to Purdue as an interim assistant football coach in 2022.[11]

  1. ^ "George Halas Award". PFWA. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  2. ^ "Players with the most seasons with at least 5,000 passing yards, NFL history". StatMuse. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  3. ^ Shapiro, Michael (March 14, 2021). "Brees Retires After 20 Seasons With Chargers, Saints". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  4. ^ "NFL Pass Completion % Career Leaders". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on August 8, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  5. ^ Trapasso, Chris (October 8, 2012). "Where Does Drew Brees Rank in NFL History?". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on September 15, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  6. ^ Healy, John (January 29, 2022). "From Elway to Brady, ranking the 10 greatest NFL quarterbacks of all time". Audacy.com. Archived from the original on August 18, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  7. ^ Bleier, Evan (March 15, 2021). "Where Does Drew Brees Actually Rank as an All-Time NFL Quarterback?". InsideHook.com. Archived from the original on September 15, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  8. ^ Gordon, Grant (March 14, 2021). "Saints QB Drew Brees announces retirement after 20-year career". NFL.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  9. ^ Bumbaca, Chris (March 15, 2021). "Drew Brees officially joins NBC Sports as studio analyst, will also call Notre Dame football". USA Today. Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  10. ^ Marchand, Andrew (May 15, 2022). "Drew Brees done at NBC after one season as NFL analyst". New York Post. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  11. ^ Shook, Nick (December 15, 2022). "Drew Brees joins Purdue coaching staff as interim assistant ahead of Citrus Bowl". NFL.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2023.


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