Drew Brees invited a crew of New Orleans Saints teammates to join him for some unique beach workouts in his part-time home of San Diego recently -- including some stand-up paddle boarding (as captured by San Diego’s NBC affiliate).
Brees was joined by Saints receivers Brandin Cooks, Nick Toon, Brandon Coleman and Seantavius Jones, quarterback Ryan Griffin, fullback Austin Johnson and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Chase Daniel, among others.
They went through some intense physical training on the beach, led by Brees’ longtime personal trainer Todd Durkin. And Brees introduced them to one of his favorite physical hobbies, stand-up paddle boarding -- which some teammates tackled better than others.
“Some of the most athletic guys, the best athletes in the world, feel really silly when they get on the paddle board,” Brees told NBC San Diego. “They got the hang of it pretty quick. But then it just becomes, ‘Who can stay on the longest? Who can race to the green buoy the fastest? Knocking each other off.’ Just messing around, that’s part of the fun.”
Aside from the benefits of staying in shape and breaking up the offseason monotony, such sessions should be valuable as Brees builds relationships with a whole new generation of receivers. Brees still has longtime go-to guy Marques Colston on the roster. But after the team traded away tight end Jimmy Graham and receiver Kenny Stills this offseason, the Saints will be relying on a lot of young receivers to step up and help fill the void.
