The Aporia · NFL legend Drew Brees reportedly almost pulled off a shocking comeback for Broncos' AFC title game

NFL legend Drew Brees reportedly almost pulled off a shocking comeback for Broncos' AFC title game

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APA MLA Chicago

Avila, A. (2026, September 15). NFL legend Drew Brees reportedly almost pulled off a shocking comeback for Broncos' AFC title game. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/nfl-legend-drew-brees-reportedly-almost-pulled-off-shocking-comeback-broncos-afc-title-game

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Adam Schefter reported that Drew Brees almost came out of retirement to play for the Denver Broncos in last year's AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots after their quarterback Bo Nix suffered an injury. The 47-year-old Brees seriously considered the offer and even had a private throwing session, but wrist discomfort ended his potential comeback. Had he played, it would have been unprecedented given his retirement in 2021 at age 41 and no practice time.

Written by AI on 2026-09-15, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Hours before the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos played on "Monday Night Football," NFL insider Adam Schefter revealed a surprising claim: Drew Brees, then 47, nearly came out of retirement to start for the Broncos in last season's AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots. After Bo Nix broke his ankle during the divisional round playoff game and Denver was left with backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham, former Saints coaches Joe Lombardi and Pete Carmichael reached out to Brees. Brees took the offer seriously, even holding a private throwing workout to test his arm strength. However, wrist discomfort ended his comeback attempt. If successful, Brees's return would have been one of the most unexpected comebacks in sports history, as he had not taken an NFL snap since his retirement following the 2021 season with the Aces.

Written for “Drew Brees Almost Joins Broncos” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 24% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

The moment Drew Brees realized his NFL comeback couldn’t happen Different event

New York Post

Hedges 3 of 16 claims Outlet record 66/100

“While both articles discuss Drew Brees's near return for the Denver Broncos after Bo Nix's injury, Article A focuses on the initial talks and decision-making process before the attempt was made, whereas Article B specifically mentions Brees' realization during a throwing session with his son that he could not continue.”

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

24%

4 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

69/100

Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Sports

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-15 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6110 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Alejandro Avila

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 63 articles by Alejandro Avila →

Topics

Broncos Denver Denver Broncos Kansas City Chiefs NFL

Subjects

Brees PERSON · 6× Broncos ORG · 3× Denver GPE · 3× NFL ORG · 2× Adam Schefter PERSON · 1× Bo Nix PERSON · 1× Denver Broncos ORG · 1× Drew Brees PERSON · 1× Kansas City Chiefs ORG · 1× the New England Patriots ORG · 1×

Narrative

Hours before the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos kicked off on "Monday Night Football", NFL insider Adam Schefter dropped a stunner ... that 47-year-old Drew Brees nearly came off the couch to start for Denver in last season's AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots.

framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-15

🔮 This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.

2026-09-15 · Fox News

NFL legend Drew Brees reportedly almost pulled off a shocking comeback for Broncos' AFC title game · mixed framing

Claims (17 extracted, 4 hedged)

Brees → kick → Patriots

After Broncos quarterback Bo Nix broke his ankle in overtime during the divisional round, Denver was forced to turn to backup Jarrett Stidham. asserted

Denver → break → Stidham

That led Broncos assistants Joe Lombardi and Pete Carmichael, two former Saints coaches, to quietly reach out to Brees. asserted

Lombardi → lead → Brees

Head coach Sean Payton was kept in the dark until months later. asserted

Payton → keep → dark

Brees reportedly took the offer seriously and held a private throwing workout to test his arm. uncertain

Brees → take → arm

This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. uncertain

page → contain → partners

If you sign up or place a wager, FOX News may be compensated. uncertain

News → sign → wager

This content was created by a team that works independently from the FOX newsroom. asserted

that → create → newsroom

However, wrist discomfort during the session killed the idea. asserted

discomfort → kill → idea

Realizing his body could no longer execute, Brees allegedly called off the comeback. uncertain

Brees → realize → comeback

Had Brees returned, it would have been one of the craziest one-game comebacks in sports history. asserted

it → return → history

He had not taken an NFL snap in five full calendar years after retiring in 2021. asserted

He → take → 2021

Throwing a 47-year-old into a freezing, snowy AFC title game with zero practice reps was a massive physical gamble. asserted

Throwing → throw → reps

Plus, taking a single active snap would have reset his five-year retirement clock, pushing his Hall of Fame induction from August 2026 back to 2031. asserted

taking → take → 2031

On the "New Heights" podcast with Travis and Jason Kelce, Brees recalled how the Miami Dolphins rejected him in 2006 after team doctors gave his shoulder a 25% chance of recovery. asserted

doctors → recall → recovery

Nick Saban spent years regretting that failed physical, admitting it prevented his Dolphins from reaching new heights and pushed Brees to New Orleans. asserted

it → spend → Orleans

In the end, Stidham started, the Broncos lost 10-7 to New England, and Denver was left wondering what if. asserted

Denver → start → if