This NFL offseason might see some movement around the league with quarterbacks. One big name who could become a free agent is Drew Brees. He almost hit free agency a couple of years ago and apparently had an offer from the Arizona Cardinals.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano, the Cardinals offered Brees a two-year, $60 million contract to take over for the retired Carson Palmer.
According to the report, Brees “never entertained it,” as he wanted to win as opposed to making more money.
Cardinals fans will remember what happened in the 2018 offseason. The offer to Brees was never reported. They targeted Kirk Cousins, who signed with the Minnesota Vikings. They also had interest in Case Keenum.
They ended up signing Sam Bradford, who played only three games before getting benched and later was released. It led to their 3-13 season and having the No. 1 overall pick.
Had Brees come to Arizona, their fortunes would have been different. They would not have been as bad as they were. Maybe they do not draft Josh Rosen 10th overall. They probably are not a playoff team and they would not have been able to draft Kyler Murray.
Offering Brees a contract was a bit of a Hail Mary but the Cardinals needed a quarterback after Carson Palmer had retired. It shows that signing Bradford was far from their first choice. They wanted Brees or Cousins. They had to settle.
If Murray pans out, it will have worked fine for the team, but things would have been different. There would likely never have been a Kliff Kingsbury hire and they would not have Murray.
But they also would likely have won more than a combined eight games in the last two seasons.
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Ep. 259
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Ep. 258
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