Drew Brees was “appreciative” of time he had with Jameis Winston

The New Orleans Saints are having to say goodbye to future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees. Sadly, he won’t be with the team anymore as the 42-year-old has announced his retirement from football.

The retirement of Brees is something the Saints had been planning for for a few seasons it felt like. Adding Teddy Bridgewater and keeping him in the Big Easy was a good start, but eventually, he parted ways. Bridgewater was replaced by Jameis Winston.

Drew Brees may be riding off into the sunset as retirement now faces him, but he recently reminisced on his time with Jameis Winston.

All indications are that Winston is going to be the starter on Week 1. While we do not know that for a fact and head coach Sean Payton has said there will be a competition, Winston should be expected to best Taysom Hill.

That said, Winston initially signed a bargain deal with the New Orleans Saints. He had a league-high in both yards and interceptions in 2019, so signing to be a backup probably shocked many fans.

He did it to be with Brees and Payton, and Brees was “appreciative” of the time he was able to spend with the former No. 1 overall pick.

"“I guess it’s not until you have a moment like that where you really understand the impact you can have on someone. And I’m so appreciative for the time I had with Jameis,” Brees told USA Today’s Jori Epstein."

Winston needed the time with Brees, and the goal is that his turnover problems are fixed. Brees likely acted as a mentor for Winston who is expected to lead the team Brees has dedicated so much of his life to.

It’s great to hear some of Brees’ side of their relationship. Let’s hope that it will result in Winston picking up a few things and being a top-tier leader for a team that’ll be craving a confident play-caller to lead the offense.

Brees and Winston seemed to have a genuine friendship and that continues to prove itself with what each has said regarding the other.