New Orleans Saints: Grading each of the team’s three quarterbacks in 2019

PASSING YARDS: 2979
PASSING TOUCHDOWNS: 27
INTERCEPTIONS: 4

PFF Grade: 91.2
Future Status: 2020 Unrestricted Free Agent

2019 was a season to both remember and forget for Drew Brees. Brees tore a ligament in his right thumb after being injured in week 2 against the LA Rams. He then watched a much younger Teddy Bridgewater go 5-0 in his absence, not making his return until week 8.

In his 11 games this past season, Brees went 8-3 and threw 27 touchdowns with only 4 interceptions. He completed 74.3% of his passes, including 80.5% to Michael Thomas. Brees broke Peyton Manning’s all-time passing touchdown record against the Colts in week 15.

He also set the single-game passing completion percentage record, completing 29 of 30 passes as a side hustle that night.

All of these numbers and accomplishments point to an A+ grade and we move on to the next subject. Except, the Saints played a playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings, and Brees looked like his arm was gone.

It came as a shock to most fans to see a performance like this. He was sacked three times, threw an interception, and the longest throw of the game was completed by Taysom Hill, not Brees. He didn’t complete a single pass over 20 yards.

Dinks and dunks became part of a ritual, and the game plan seemed very off. Fans almost wanted to see Hill take over because every time he entered the game, he made a spark happen.

We do have to be fair and say the offensive line made of lot of this all possible. They severely underperformed and it showed. Despite a bad performance, Brees played great for the majority of the season, even with an injured right thumb.

There is a real question as to whether or not Brees will be back to start for the Saints in 2019. He has been approached by a tv network to go into broadcasting. However, Sean Payton told Nick Underhill of The Athletic, “No, I see him on our field this upcoming season”.