Brady-Brees battle bodes well for future

NEW ORLEANS — After a century of NFL football, this season’s Week 1 slate features the first game ever to involve two quarterbacks in their 40s: the Buccaneers’ Tom Brady and the Saints’ Drew Brees.

So mark down Sunday’s NFC South Division clash between the Bucs and Saints as yet another unusual occurrence in 2020 — and one that should provide reason for hope. It’s evidence that the greatest young QBs of today could very well last two full decades in the pros.

“There’s probably better information about recovery and performance than there’s ever been. I think people are really getting a better understanding of it than when I started playing,” Brady said. “Will this become a trend? It really just depends on the commitment level of an athlete. If you’re not that committed or you don’t love it that much, you’re not going to put as much time in and energy into it.

“I learned at a young age how to begin to take care of myself and try to repeat those things and got better at them over the years and was really able to do what a lot of people do with their jobs,” Brady added. “You improve over time.”

That’s certainly what the Bucs bet on when they lured the 43-year-old Brady away from the Patriots — his only other team — during free agency in the spring. After signing Brady, the Bucs jettisoned 26-year-old, 2015 first overall draft choice Jameis Winston, who responded by signing with the Saints to learn under Brees.