Adam Schefter of ESPN tuned the heads of the NFL world right before the "Monday Night Football" contest between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs when he reported the Broncos were talking with Drew Brees about a potential return before their AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots in January. That could land the Broncos in hot water with the league. Per Schefter, Broncos then-offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and offensive assistant Pete Carmichael talked with Brees about a potential return to start for Denver or backup Jarrett Stidham after Bo Nix suffered an ankle injury in the Broncos' win over the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round.
More News: Exclusive: Breakout NFL Executives Who Could Become Future General Managers More News: 4 QBs Generating Serious Trade Buzz Weeks Before NFL Regular Season Starts However, Brees felt discomfort in his wrist during the workout, which ended the thought experiment. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk called Schefter's report a "big, fat nothing burger" for a couple of reasons. For one, the league requires a retired player to return by Week 13, or he's ineligible to play for the remainder of the season/postseason.
The second and most important reason, Brees is on the Saints' reserve-retired list. If New Orleans released Brees to play in the AFC championship, the Hall of Fame quarterback would have been subject to waivers. If members of the Broncos talked to Brees about playing for them without the permission of the Saints, the league could punish them for tampering.
"That doesn’t mean the Broncos didn’t talk to Brees, as Schefter reports," Florio wrote. "If, however, then-offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and offensive assistant Pete Carmichael spoke to Brees without permission from the Saints, it would have been tampering. "Which leads to the next question.
Will the league investigate the Broncos for tampering, based on Schefter’s report? Even without a complaint from the Saints, the league could take action." Schefter noted that Sean Payton was not made aware of the Broncos plot to try and persuade Brees to play in the AFC championship until the offseason. Still, the head coach might have to deal with the fallout of tampering by his staff from last season.
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