"He doesn't even know how much he means to me and my family, for real."
Saints quarterback Jameis Winston shared an emotional response on Tuesday when asked about the impact Drew Brees had on him last season.
Winston, who signed a one-year deal with the Saints last offseason and recently re-signed with the team on another one-year deal, said Brees holds a special place for him.
"For him to put his arm around me and give me any encouraging words after I saw the resilience, the passion, the way that he approached every single day. For that to even be a story, I was touched by that," Winston said. "Because he doesn't even know how much he means to me and my family, for real."
Winston attempted just 11 regular-season passes for the Saints last season, though he threw a touchdown in New Orleans' eventual second-round playoff loss to the Buccaneers.
The 27-year-old Winston, who started the first five seasons of his career for Tampa Bay, could again be in line for a starting role following Brees's retirement.
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Winston is expected to battle Taysom Hill for the starting quarterback spot in New Orleans after Hill signed a four-year extension with the team. Hill started four games last year while Brees was out with multiple injuries, going 3-1 in that span.
"I love football. That's all I've done my entire life," Winston said. "And someone that I look up to, that I admire, that I actually could touch was my teammate, and I had the chance to serve him. I'm speechless.
"That really gets me emotional because I really love Drew Brees. I don't think he understands. I know my wife do. I know my family do. But y'all don't understand the impact that him and a lot of other quarterbacks had on me as a quarterback growing up in Bessemer, Ala."