One of the greatest players to ever strap up the pads has officially retired. Future first ballot hall of famer, Drew Brees has decided to call it a career and hang up the cleats. Statistically, you could make the argument that Brees is a top three player ever. No player has more passing yards in NFL history than Brees, he is also second to just Tom Brady in all time touchdown passes. No athlete has been more influential in the city of New Orleans than Drew Brees. In a time of distraught and chaos, Brees brought a championship to the Bayou. He was able to bring hope and happiness to the people affected by Hurricane Katrina. Brees has left a lasting imprint on the game of football and his impact goes farther than just Louisiana. 

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Brees has all the options in the world. First things first, he can just be a dad and coach his son's football teams. Brees can also go straight to the booth because he has a contract with NBC as a broadcaster. Brees may want to take some time off after a 20 year NFL career. Let's say Brees started playing football at nine years old (that's just a guess). That means that Brees has been playing football for 33 years. A major transition into a different career path may take a year to think about. While I'm not sure what Brees will pursue, I know he isn't finished in New Orleans. On his instagram retirement post, Brees said, "I am only retiring from playing football, I am not retiring from New Orleans. This is not a goodbye, rather a new beginning." I have no doubts that Brees will be extremely charitable in his post-retirement life. 

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The Saints have some work to do. Without Brees in the locker room there will be a major culture shock. They have been able to miraculously get near the salary cap, but they don't have much money to spend in free agency. I expect them to resign Jameis Winston to an incentive based contract. If you've been reading this page for a while, you know that I am a known Taysom Hill hater. I love him as an athlete, but I don't think he has what it takes to be a starting quarterback. Sean Payton should keep him in his role as a gadget player, not as a franchise quarterback. Jameis Winston needs to prove a lot of people wrong. The last time we saw him as a full time starter was his 30 touchdown, 30 interception season on the Buccaneers. Since then, he has been able to learn from Brees and Sean Payton and he's had Lasik eye surgery. I've never heard of a quarterback having mid-career eye surgery so it is really a mystery how big of an affect the surgery will have on his career. 

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Drew Brees is a legend, but the Saints have some big holes to fill on their roster. With free agency starting soon, I expect the Saints to try and resign Jameis Winston or pursue Jacoby Brissett.