The New Orleans Saints head into the offseason with pressing questions at the quarterback position.
First, as general manager Mickey Loomis noted in an end-of-season press conference, the club awaits Drew Brees' decision on his future.
"I don't think it's a lot different from last year. We'll wait for him," Loomis said Wednesday.
Ten days since the Saints bowed out of the playoffs with a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Brees still hasn't announced his intentions. Widely expected to retire, the future Hall of Fame quarterback said he'd give himself time before determining his future.
If Brees does retire, the question for Loomis, Sean Payton and the rest of the Saints' brass is who takes the torch from the legendary QB.
"The answers to that will kick out over the next few weeks as we go through evaluations and we talk about our roster, talk about every position," Loomis said. "Generally speaking, we target our own guys first. But again, the answers to that remain to be seen, and we'll get the answers to that over the next few weeks."
The Saints have Taysom Hill under contract. While the passing game was inefficient under Hill, New Orleans went 3-1 with him starting under center for an injured Brees this season. The question for Payton and the Saints is whether that short stint proved Hill could be the long-term answer.
Jameis Winston also spent the year on the roster and hits the free-agent market with a plethora of other cheaper veterans.
"Again, all that evaluation and what happens with that still remains to be seen," Loomis said of the veteran QB options the Saints might have. "We'll talk about every position again. But look, we like Taysom, we like Jameis, we like what they did for us. But again, just like every other position, we're going to have a lot of discussions over the next week or two and move on from there."
First, the Saints await Brees' ultimate decision.
Regardless of whether the future HOF QB retires or not, Loomis expects the Saints to compete for a fifth-straight NFC South title.
"We've got a great roster," he said, . "I can't foresee a circumstance where we're not gonna ... do everything we can to win -- win now and compete for a championship."
