Saints quarterback Drew Brees termed his contract talks “ongoing,” and again expressed confidence a deal would get done.
During a break in shooting a soup commercial, Brees said he has no plans to play anywhere else, even though this is the final year of his Saints deal and he’s said he won’t negotiate once the regular season begins.
“I’ve been through that a few times, so you know that [the contract extension] will happen when it’s supposed to happen,” Brees said, via Alysha Tsuji of USA Today. “There’s so much that goes into an offseason — you’re signing free agents, you’re signing rookies, you’re going through the draft process.
“Now as we get ready for training camp, I obviously, I see myself in New Orleans for the rest of my career.”
Brees also reiterated his stance that he didn’t want the negotiations dragging out.
“Once the season rolls around, I just want to focus on football. And I handled it that way back in 2011 — the exact same way,” he said. “So I plan on handling it the exact same way this time around.”
That’s an easy thing to say, but Brees is in a far different place than he was five years ago — no longer in his athletic prime.
But given the size and complexity of any potential deal in New Orleans, it’s interesting to hear him so optimistic.