METAIRIE, La. -- It happened three years ago, and it was very purposeful.
Drew Brees had just turned 38 years old. He had just missed the playoffs for the third straight season. And he decided he was going to start embracing his football mortality.
“Prior to that, it was like, 'This is gonna last forever,' right?” said the New Orleans Saints quarterback, who paused when asked what changed.
“I don’t know. Because I recognized that I was closer to the end than I was the beginning. ... Just reality,” Brees told ESPN in a recent conversation as he heads into the playoffs for the ninth time in his 19-year career.