The Broncos are sweating a potential tampering case, and it all revolves around a wild report about Drew Brees. ESPN’s Adam Schefter dropped a bomb on Monday, reporting that the Broncos actually talked to Brees about coming out of retirement to join the team for the AFC Championship game. That’s a huge problem, especially since Brees was chilling on the Saints’ reserve-retired list, making any such move absolutely impossible. This whole situation immediately opened the door for a tampering investigation against Denver.
The First Call: Who Knew About the Brees Buzz?
Schefter’s initial report specifically named former Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and former Broncos offensive assistant Pete Carmichael as the guys who spoke to Brees about unretiring. Drew Brees himself later confirmed to Ed Werder that those former Saints assistants were indeed the ones who reached out to him. It looked like a pretty clear-cut case of the Broncos trying to get a leg up, even if the move couldn’t actually happen.
Payton’s Plot Twist: A Totally Different Story
Then came Tuesday, and Broncos coach Sean Payton tried to flip the script. He told reporters a completely different version of events, claiming Brees was the one who reached out. “Drew had reached out, I think, right after the championship or right after the playoff win against Buffalo,” Payton stated. He even suggested Brees “probably texted Pete or Joe, those guys,” but insisted, “None of it even came to my attention.” Payton tried to downplay the whole thing, saying he thought the story was about the COVID season, when he and Brees briefly discussed a Monday night game comeback that never happened because Brees “had trouble throwing it.” Payton’s conclusion? “I don’t think really anything really came of it. I think in Drew’s mind, there’s that competitor in him.” Sounds like a lot of excuses if you ask me.
The NFL’s definitely got its eyes on this one. With Payton’s conflicting story, the stakes are rising for the Broncos. We’ll have to see if the league buys his version or if Denver is about to get hit with some serious penalties.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pro Football Talk.
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