Drew Brees' decision to return or retire to come in 'a month or so', but he'll 'always be a Saint'

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — One of Drew Brees' sons, Callen, clung to his father's leg after Saturday's Pro Bowl practice. 

Brees, while answering media questions, occasionally patted his son on the head, simultaneously paying attention to both his child and a reporter.

For Brees, that's what Pro Bowl week is all about: spending time with his wife and four children. His decision regarding his future on the football field will come later.

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"I'm really waiting until football is totally done," Brees told The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate on Saturday. "Obviously being here, I'm just very much focused on my family and this opportunity to be be around the guys, playing the game.

"Then, I'll kind of lay low for a little bit, get away and then assess. I kind of have a process in mind. And I'll give it a month or so."

Brees, 41, is entering free agency after his latest one-year deal with the Saints is nearly ending. Even though he said he hasn't started contemplating his future, he has ruled out one thing: He won't be suiting up for another team. He is either returning to New Orleans or retiring. 

"I have never been in the situation where I was mulling over the thought of (returning)," Brees said Thursday. "To me, each one of these contracts, I don't know how many it's been with the Saints, I've played with them 14 years, each one, it's not a matter of if it gets done, it's when. At this stage of my career, it's not a given that I'm coming back every year, but when that time comes, I'll always be a Saint."

Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said earlier this week that the franchise would "obviously" welcome the future Hall of Famer back.

“It’s easy to take him for granted, yet I don’t take him for granted,” Loomis said. “I don’t view it any different than I did a year ago, or a year before that, or a year before that — regardless of whether he has a contract or not.

“Yeah, he’s a great player, he’s been a great player, he continues to be a great player.”

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Until he reaches a decision, Brees is focusing on his family. 

Brees' kids have spent Pro Bowl practices on the the sidelines, showing off their special haircuts. They've been interacting with their favorite players and their children and showing off their own football skills.

Since the Pro Bowl practices are held on Disney World's campus, it's been easy for the Brees family to make it over to the other parks after Brees' Pro Bowl obligations are finished for the day.

They've taken in the Star Wars: Galaxy Edge at Hollywood Studios, and spent some time at Magic Kingdom — taking the same family photo hanging in many living rooms of families who've vacationed at Disney — one in front of Cinderella's castle.

"It's awesome," Brees said Saturday. "Just the Disney experience, you get to do that together as a family. Then they're football fanatics. They love the game and they know so many of these players. These are guys that they look up to.

"So, to be in the locker room with them, be out on the field with them, these are life experiences that not many kids get a chance to do. So, I certainly value the opportunity to bring them along and give them that experience."