Ahead of the epic season opener set to take place between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football, former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees made quite the entrance into his first gig at NBC. After being introduced on the show, Brees shared a humorous, yet sentimental reaction to his TV debut, via the Bleacher Report Gridiron Twitter:

He was welcomed on with just a sampling of his extensive list of career accomplishments, and looked as cool on set as he always did on the field in the Superdome.

ā€œNot gonna lie, I see the guys warming up behind me ā€“ I feel like I should be out here getting warmed up,ā€ Brees said. ā€œI'm happy to be here, love being on set with you guys.ā€

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Though it's great to see Brees out there to entertain us with his nuggets of wisdom and insight into the modern game, it's bittersweet that he's no longer on the field. His methodical precision and knowledge of the game in Sean Payton's high-powered offense was truly unique in the context of NFL history. It's no wonder he's the league's all-time passing yards leader as the only QB to ever throw for more than 80,000 yards over his career.

It's a time that had to come, though, as we saw Brees' decline on full display in the Saints' loss to the Buccaneers in last year's Divisional Round, 30-20. Brees threw 3 interceptions and only 1 touchdown. He also was plagued by some injuries last year as well, and showed a concerning lack of arm strength.

Still, his regular season record of 9-3 as the starter and astounding fifth consecutive season with a completion percentage of 70% or higher is a testament to his historic greatness.

We will see plenty of quarterbacks as physically talented as Drew Brees, but perhaps not another with the lazer-sharp precision and football IQ that he displayed.