It turns out that Philip Rivers' out-of-nowhere return to the NFL last season almost started a trend that would have been trumped by the potential return of Drew Brees.
After the Denver Broncos lost starting quarterback Bo Nix to a fractured ankle in their overtime playoff victory against the Buffalo Bills, Denver's then-offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and offensive assistant Pete Carmichael had discussions with Brees about the former star quarterback coming out of retirement to be ready for the AFC Championship Game, sources told ESPN.
Brees had turned 47 years old just two days before Nix sustained the ankle injury Jan. 17. Brees spoke to Lombardi and Carmichael, his longtime assistant coaches with the New Orleans Saints, early in the week ahead of Denver's AFC Championship Game showdown against the New England Patriots, telling them that he wanted to first work out to see how his body would respond.
But once he tried, Brees found discomfort in his wrist and nixed the idea that would have become one of the most improbable returns in NFL history, according to sources.
Brees hinted earlier this year at a potential opportunity to return to the NFL, telling the "New Heights" podcast that he "had some conversations."
In an interview published Feb. 11, Brees told "New Heights" that "something happened where I thought there might be a chance where I could play that week."
Brees did not identify a specific team or provide details on the situation he was alluding to, but acknowledged that he was "not there" in terms of being physically able to play.
Brees announced his retirement in March 2021, 15 years to the day that he first signed with the Saints, and was selected for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this past summer.
There are bylaws that say players must wait five years after their playing careers are concluded to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, and it's fair to wonder how the Hall would have handled this unprecedented situation and if the clock to entry into Canton would have been restarted.
It's also fair to wonder how Broncos head coach Sean Payton -- Brees' longtime head coach in New Orleans -- would have handled Brees' return.
Lombardi and Carmichael did not include Payton or inform him about their initial conversations with Brees. The assistant coaches first wanted to see if Brees was willing to return to the NFL to help Denver try to reach the Super Bowl before informing Payton.
Payton only heard about the behind-the-scenes plot in the offseason, according to sources. When he did, Payton thought his assistants were referring to a potential Brees return for a Monday night game vs. Miami in December 2021, when the Saints lost quarterback Jameis Winston to a torn ACL, had Taysom Hill and Trevor Siemian put on the reserve/COVID-19 list, and were forced to have rookie quarterback Ian Book make his NFL debut.
Back then, Payton and his assistants approached Brees about returning to the Saints, and he debated the idea before ultimately nixing it, according to sources. But Payton spearheaded that attempt, whereas in the more recent discussions that occurred this past January, he didn't know about them.
When Payton found out that his assistants had broached the idea of a Brees return for the AFC Championship Game during the offseason, he was fascinated and flabbergasted.
Had Brees decided his body felt good enough to return, Payton and the Broncos would have signed him and figured out whether he was a better starting quarterback option than Jarrett Stidham.
As one Broncos source recently said: "At a minimum, you sign [Brees], he's 1A or 1B. And Drew's point was: 'I know how to win a game like that.'"
Payton was asked Monday night, after the Broncos' 31-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, about what the potential was for Brees to join Denver. Payton said Lombardi and Carmichael had talked to Brees without his knowledge and never brought the idea to him.
"I just know I was the odd man out. I never heard anything about it,'' Payton said Monday night. "It never came to anything, I was only told about it later. I was just like you guys.''
With Stidham as their starter, the Broncos lost 10-7 to the Patriots in Denver. Stidham struggled in the snowy contest, completing 17 of 31 passes for 133 yards, one touchdown and one interception while also losing a fumble.
Certainly, Brees and Payton have been close enough, and could have made a comeback work. The two discussed it this past summer, when Payton presented Brees for induction at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The two men, as instrumental as any in the history of New Orleans football, could have had the chance to write another wilder chapter in Denver.
ESPN's Jeff Legwold contributed to this report.