Drew brees

Drew Christopher Brees (born January 15, 1979) is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). After a prolific college football career at Purdue University, he was chosen by the San Diego Chargers with the first pick in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He left college as one of the most-decorated players in Purdue and Big Ten Conference history, establishing two NCAA records, 13 Big Ten Conference records and 19 Purdue University records.] As of 2016, he remains the Big Ten record-holder

Brees started his professional career with the San Diego Chargers, earning the starting job in 2002 and making the Pro Bowl in 2004. Nine months after suffering a bad dislocation in his shoulder joint and a 360 degree tear of his labrum and rotator cuff, Brees signed with the New Orleans Saints as a free agent.[3] He met immediate success in New Orleans, earning nine trips to the Pro Bowl and leading the Saints to their first Super Bowl in Super Bowl XLIV, a 31–17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. Since joining the Saints in 2006, he has led all NFL quarterbacks in touchdowns, passing yards, and 300-yard games. Brees has passed for over 5,000 yardsin a season five times—no other NFL quarterback has done so more than once. He has led the NFL in passing touchdowns four times, and in passing yards a record seven times. He was the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year in 2004, the Offensive Player of the Year in 2008 and 2011, and the MVP of Super Bowl XLIV. Sports Illustrated named Brees its 2010 Sportsman of the Year.

Brees did not play "tackle football" until high school and was on the flag football team at St. Andrew's Episcopal School, where his teammates included actor Benjamin McKenzie, who was in the same year. In high school, he was a varsity letterman in baseball, basketball and football and was considering playing college baseballrather than football. College recruiters quickly ran after Brees blew out his knee in the 11th grade. After overcoming an ACL tear during his junior year he was selected as Texas High School 5A Most Valuable Offensive Player in 1996 and led the Westlake High School football team to 16–0 record and state championship. As a high school football player, Brees completed 314 of 490 passes (64.1 percent) for 5,461 yards with 50 touchdowns including, in his senior season, 211 of 333 passes (63.4 percent) for 3,528 yards with 31 touchdowns. Westlake went 28–0–1 when Brees started for two seasons and beat a Dominic Rhodes-led Abilene Cooper 55–15 in the 1996 title game.[12][19][20] Brees was given honorable mention in the state high school all-star football team and the USA Today All-USA high school football team. alongside former San Diego Chargers teammate and long-time friend LaDainian Tomlinson Brees had hoped to follow his father and uncle's footsteps and play for the Texas Longhorns or Texas A&M Aggies but was not heavily recruited despite his stellar record

2001 NFL Draft
Brees's college success led to projections that he would be a mid–late first-round draft pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, but he slipped due to concerns about his relatively short stature for a professional quarterback (6'), a perceived lack of arm strength, and a sense that he had succeeded in college in a spread offense. Brees was the second quarterback, behind Michael Vick of Virginia Tech, selected in the 2001 Draft, chosen by the San Diego Chargers as the first pick of the second round and 32nd overall. San Diego originally had the first pick in that draft, but traded it to Atlanta (which had drafted Vick) in return for the fifth pick of the first round, with which San Diego drafted LaDainian Tomlinson.

Early career
Brees played in his first professional game on November 4, 2001 against the Kansas City Chiefs. He won the starting job over Doug Flutie during training camp before the start of the 2002 season. Brees started all 16 games for the Chargers during the 2002 season, leading the team to an 8–8 record. After a disappointing start to the 2003 season, he was replaced by Flutie, though he regained the job by the end of the season.

2004 season
Brees's career with the Chargers was in jeopardy after San Diego acquired NC State's Philip Rivers after the 2004 NFL Draft. With a looming quarterback controversy, Brees performed well through training camp and the preseason, while Rivers held out during training camp, essentially guaranteeing him the job to begin the season with Rivers as his backup.

Brees remained the starter throughout the 2004 season, where he started 15 games and led the team to a 12–4 regular season record. Brees posted spectacular numbers, completing 65.5% of his passes for 3,159 yards, with 27 touchdowns to only 7 interceptions, giving him a 104.8 passer rating. The Chargers won the AFC West for the first time in 10 seasons and Brees was selected to the 2004 Pro Bowl. He was named 2004 NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

2005 season
Brees became a free agent after the season and was not expected to return to San Diego, which had already committed a large sum of money to Rivers. The team eventually designated Brees a franchise player, giving him a one-year contract that quadrupled his pay to $8 million for 2005. Under the terms of the franchise player contract, Brees was eligible to be traded or to sign with another team, but the Chargers would receive two future first round draft choices in return. He was not traded and continued as the starting quarterback for the remainder of the 2005 season.

Brees continued his productive play in 2005, as he posted a career-high in passing yards with 3,576. Brees also posted an 89.2 rating, 10th best in the NFL. However, in the last game of the 2005 season against the Denver Broncos, Brees tore his labrum while trying to pick up his own fumble after being hit by Broncos safety John Lynch. Denver tackle Gerard Warren hit Brees while he was on the ground, causing the injury. Brees underwent arthroscopic surgery, performed by Dr. James Andrews, to repair the torn labrum in his right (throwing) shoulder on January 5, 2006. Subsequent reports mentioned additional rotator cuff damage and he also was treated by Dr. Saby Szajowitz to recover and regain muscle movement.

After the season, the Chargers offered Brees a 5-year, $50 million contract that paid $2 million in base salary the first year and the rest heavily based on performance incentives. Brees evaluated the incentive-based offer as a sign of no confidence by the Chargers and promptly demanded the salary a top 5 "franchise" quarterback would receive.

New Orleans Saints (2006–present)
After the Chargers refused to increase their offer, Brees met with other teams. The New Orleans Saints and the Miami Dolphins were interested in Brees. New Orleans made an offer that included $10 million in guaranteed money the first year and a $12 million option the second year. Miami was unsure if Brees's shoulder was completely healed and doctors suggested the team not sign him because of the injury.[55] The Dolphins ended negotiations and traded for Minnesota Vikingsquarterback Daunte Culpepper instead. Brees signed a 6-year, $60 million deal with the Saints on March 14, 2006.

2006 season
Brees had a productive first year with the Saints. The team, under first-year head coach Sean Payton, rebounded from its disastrous 2005 season (when the team was unable to play in New Orleans due to the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina and struggled to a 3–13 record) to finish with a 10–6 regular season record and won the NFC South division title. Brees threw a league-leading and franchise record 4,418 passing yards, finished third in the league with 26 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions, and had a 96.2 passer rating. Brees was named starting quarterback for the NFC in the 2007 Pro Bowl. On January 5, 2007, Brees was named first runner-up behind former teammate Tomlinson for league MVP by the Associated Press. Brees and Tomlinson were co-recipients of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.

On January 13, 2007, in his first playoff game for New Orleans, Brees was 20–32 in passing attempts with 1 touchdown and no interceptions against the Philadelphia Eagles in the Louisiana Superdome. The Saints held on to win 27–24, and advanced to the franchise's first NFC Championship Game against the Chicago Bears. Though he completed 27 of 49 passes for 354 yards against the Chicago Bears, and two touchdowns, Brees committed three costly turnovers, and was penalized for an intentional grounding in the endzone, resulting in a safety, as the Saints lost 39–14. Brees dislocated his left elbow during the first quarter of the Pro Bowl.

2007 season[edit]
The following season, Brees passed for 4,423 yards, topped his own record and tied a then franchise record with 28 touchdowns. He also set the NFL record previously held by Rich Gannon for pass completions in a single season with 440. However, the Saints missed the playoffs with a 7–9 record.