Sunday’s Divisional Round matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will feature a highly-touted individual battle between two all-time great quarterbacks: Drew Brees vs. Tom Brady. As it turns out, the pair have been exchanging pleasantries via text message in the buildup of the game.
Brees himself admitted that he’s been texting with Brady and how they’ve been having a bit of a laugh about all this:
“Tom and I have a friendship and a mutual respect,” Brees said Wednesday, via the Saints on Twitter (h/t Charean Williams of NBC Sports).
“We were texting back and forth on Monday, just kind of chuckling at this whole scenario, right,” Brees said. “He’s 43. I turn 42 on Friday, so that’s 85 years and a lot of football experience that’s going to be on the field on Sunday.
The pair may be in a jovial mood, but make no mistake about it — the gloves will come off on Sunday, with both Brees and Brady doing everything in their power to lift their side to victory.
Drew Brees then went on to say that this is a matchup he’s been looking forward to for nearly a year now:
“When Tom Brady signed with the Bucs, and I knew that he was coming to our division, I envisioned this game. What was that, nine months ago? Eight months ago? I envisioned this game happening, because I knew our aspirations as a team, to be in the playoffs and beyond, and I certainly knew what he was bringing to the Bucs and that talented roster,” Brees said. “And so, I think this is probably where we all envisioned being at this point in the season.”
It is worth noting that the Brees vs. Brady matchup on Sunday will set an NFL record for the two oldest starting quarterbacks facing off against each other in league history.
