Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees will join ESPN’s Monday NFL Countdown prior to the Miami Dolphins-Los Angeles Rams game.
The news was first reported by sports media reporter Andrew Marchand on his Marchand Sports Media Substack.
Marchand notes, “ESPN wanted Brees before he ended up on NBC. Right now, Brees to ESPN full-time is not a thing, but, if he does well, I could see maybe developing into something.”
Brees’s appearance on Monday will be his first notable NFL television work since calling the Las Vegas Raiders-Cincinnati Bengals Wild Card round game alongside Mike Tirico for NBC in 2022. That performance was widely panned, and resulted in Brees losing his gig with NBC (where he primarily called Notre Dame football games and appeared on Football Night in America).
The former Super Bowl champion has been transparent about his desire to get back into broadcasting, telling Front Office Sports recently that, “I think I could be the absolute best at it if given the opportunity.”
Brees will get at least part of that opportunity on ESPN Monday night. It’ll be interesting to see whether a year away from the cameras has allowed him to improve as an analyst.
Monday night will have all the makings of a tryout. As Marchand mentioned, if he performs well this could turn into a permanent gig for Brees.
Not many people get a second chance in television, but a quarterback with the pedigree of Brees is worth a shot. Some would suggest he was judged too harshly during his first (and only) year at NBC. And given ESPN’s history with talent development, Brees will have solid resources at his disposal to grow into a competent broadcaster in Bristol.
Television is a harder job than many give it credit for. Not everyone is Tony Romo out of the gate. If Brees can learn the sport of television even half as well as he learned the sport of football, he’ll be an asset to whatever network he lands at.
