Drew Brees visits Broncos practice

They spent many successful seasons together and won a Super Bowl together, so it was just a matter of time before retired star quarterback Drew Brees visited a Denver Broncos practice led by his former coach.

Brees visited the Broncos headquarters in Colorado on Tuesday and the team released a photo on social media of him with coach Sean Payton.

Brees retired from the NFL in 2021 after 20 seasons in the league. He was arguably the chief reason for New Orleans' postseason consistency under Payton, helping guide the Saints to nine different playoff appearances and captained the franchise to its first-ever Super Bowl victory in 2009, defeating Peyton Manning and the Colts.

The Broncos owners hope Payton can have some of that same success here in Denver.

There's no word so far on whether Brees had a conversation with Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, who has been throwing the ball with authority, accuracy and touch in the practices led by his new coach in Denver.

"His movement skills have been impressive," Payton said last week. "His off-schedule plays -- every practice, you see an example of one or two. It really forces the receivers to (dial in). If you are not open in the initial route progression and the pocket moves one way, you have to move with it."

"His location has been really good. I think the last week and a-half or two weeks have been really impressive."

Wilson seems to be playing with confidence once again, and it's not unlike the confidence Brees showed during his time in New Orleans.

"My confidence doesn't waver much,'' Wilson said. "But I think every day you learn a little bit more. You learn a little bit more about who we are, what we're trying to do as a team. It's all coming together. The picture's all coming together.

"It takes time to paint a beautiful picture sometimes, and we're doing that, all as one.''