Drew was dealing with a rotator cuff injury in his throwing shoulder. That didn't become known until after the season. I would not be surprised if he wanted to return to play another season with a healthy shoulder and real fans in the stands. If he had decided to retire already we would have known it by now.

Not necessarily
He won't retire officially until June 1st so the cap is spread and the way Goodell hates the Saints he will probably try and scream them on cap tampering or some drivel if he announced it now and then retired later. Even if its been done before

You can announce intention to retire today and it can still be official post June 1st when the papers are filed. That's the way it works.

After what I've seen from Goddell and the contract restructure I wouldn't rely on rules. He's likely giving himself time but with Payton so vocal on Winston I don't see him being back

If Payton was so high on resigning Winston why would he be pumping him up so much and inflating his value? That makes no sense. It's all fluff, lee. If you want to keep a free agent you don't go out and inflate his value. That's just plain stupid.

Edit: But then again, there are some here that are convinced that Sean Payton is stupid. So there's that.

Point taken but I don’t see what any of that has to do with Brees staying or retiring.