Saints looking at future with Drew Brees on year-to-year basis

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Saints quarterback Drew Brees turned 40 in January and that means questions about how long he will continue playing will be a regular occurrence in the future.

General Manager Mickey Loomis faced one of those questions during an appearance on Mad Dog Sports Radio. Loomis said that Brees has “already exceeded whatever number was anticipated” when he began his career and indicated that the team is no longer taking a long view of how much time Brees has left.

“You know, I don’t think we look at it that way anymore. I think we look at it in terms of, ‘Hey, this year,’ you know? And man, he had a great season last year, and we expect a great season this year,” Loomis said, via the New Orleans Advocate. “And so for as long as he wants to play and can play, he’s going to have that opportunity.”

Whatever approach the Saints and Brees take to 2020 and beyond will have to take into account the cap ramifications of any deal. Brees’ contract includes a voidable year in 2020 and the team restructured his deal this year by pushing a cap hit over $10 million into that year.

Brees is set to count more than $21 million against the cap as a result and that number will go up if they sign him to a new deal that doesn’t kick a significant amount of money into future seasons.