Drew Brees couldn't have unretired to play for Broncos in AFC Championship

Sometimes, facts get in the way of a good story.

On Monday night, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that quarterback Drew Brees considered emerging from retirement to play for the Broncos in the AFC Championship, given the injury that happened to starter Bo Nix late in the divisional-round win over the Bills.

There’s only one problem with that. Brees, as PFT has confirmed, remains on the Saints’ reserve-retired list. A retired player must return by the Tuesday after Week 13 in any given year. After that, he can’t play for anyone.

Then there’s the fact that the Saints would have had to release Brees from the reserve-retired list. He then would have been subject to waivers.

That doesn’t mean the Broncos didn’t talk to Brees, as Schefter reports. 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.

It never got to the point at which the Broncos or Brees realized that the rules would block the move, because Brees had “discomfort” in his wrist. Then there’s the fact that Brees has said he can’t throw at all with his right arm due to his shoulder injury from 2005 — and that he throws better with his left.

So while the whole thing sounds good, it’s a big, fat nothing burger which, if anything, will get the Broncos in hot water for tampering with a player whose rights remain with another team,