NEW ORLEANS — Two of the best to ever play the game lingered on the field for several minutes after just about everyone else had left.
The Saints had fallen to the Tampa Bay Bucs 30-20 in what many assumed was Drew Brees' last game in the Superdome and he and Tom Brady chatted for a bit on the field as Brees tossed a football around with some of his children and swung his daughter around.
The media played it perhaps for more than it was. I mean we really don't know if Brees hadn't ended previous seasons on the field with his children and it's not out of the realm for two top players to stop and chat out of respect for one another.
But it felt climactic.
Brady spends moment with Brees, kids after playoff game
Brady will go on, he isn't ready to say goodbye yet - Brees will likely decide this week or next.
But the two are in a rare club and share experiences few others not named Peyton Manning have shared.
Brady expressed his admiration for Brees both before and after the game.
It was reported by Fox Sports' Jay Glazer that Sunday would be Brees' last game in the Supderdome.
After the game, Brees waxed philosophical about coming back for this season and all of the relationships he's made. He said he would take some time to decide about returning.
"I'm going to give myself an opportunity to think about the season, think about a lot of things, just like I did last year and make a decision," Brees said.
If Brees is hanging it up, Payton said that is a question "for another press conference."
But Brees did say that he had no regrets about coming back in 2020, despite the ending, despite having 11 rib fractures and a punctured lung.
"I would never regret it - never. No complaints, no regrets," he said. "I've always tried to play this game with a great respect and great reverence for it. I appreciate all that this game has given to me. There are so many memories, so many relationships from playing this game... I'd say this season I probably had to fight through more than I ever have in my career - from injury to all the COVID stuff to crazy circumstances. It was worth every moment of it - absolutely."
