Drew Brees has been in the NFL since the San Diego Chargers drafted him in the second round in 2001.
If he had retired by the time the Houston Texans drafted Deshaun Watson in the first round in 2017, the Super Bowl MVP would have had a full career of 16 seasons on his belt.
There is only one area where Watson could possibly give Brees advice on how to play game: playing with broken ribs and a collapsed lung.
“Protect yourself; don’t take any unnecessary hits,” Watson said.
Watson sustained such an injury in Week 5 against the Dallas Cowboys in 2018, and he played the next two games with the injury. The two-time Pro Bowler famously rode on his own charter bus for the Texans’ road game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“For me, as I think about that moment, it was tough,” said Watson. “It was a lot of uncomfortable pain and breathing, especially with the punctured lung. You can’t really do too much. You’ve got to really let it just kind of heal.”
Brees sustained his injury in Week 11’s 27-13 win over the San Francisco 49ers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Jameis Winston filled in for Brees to lead New Orleans to victory.
“I don’t think he has to have surgery,” said Watson. “For me, I didn’t have to have it. A lot of rest, a lot of treatments of breathing and really just kind of — it’s all about the rest.”
