Sean Payton will return to New Orleans to face the Saints this year, as will Russell Wilson be traveling to Denver to face the Broncos...talk about awkward...but what are some of the other most uncomfortable reunion stories in the NFL?

The NFL regular season schedule for 2024 was released this week, and among the most eyeball-grabbing matchups were the New Orleans Saints, Sean Payton’s former team, heading west to play the Denver Broncos, Payton’s current team, as well as Russell Wilson’s Pittsburgh Steelers traveling west to face the team still paying him a butt load of money just to see him play elsewhere.

A Thanksgiving featuring opposing ideological political discourse couldn’t be more awkward, but that’s the NFL. Here for the drama.

Yet, while each matchup will be as awkward as the tired old rom-com trope of having divorced parents room together during their daughter’s wedding (knock it off, Clooney), they are far from the first to test the cringe level. Let’s take a look at some of the more prominent “Remember me?” matchups of the recent past.

Tom Brady returns to New England, September 2021

The background to this lead up was so much more than the actual game.

Brady, clearly on the outs with head coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots organization, had opted to, after 19 years, try something new. He, of course, would sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and lead them to a Super Bowl win in a COVID-plagued season.

He would return to New England the following season with a “It was Brady, not Belichick” bubble following him around. Yet, this wasn’t so much awkward as it was a “we miss you” type of game. And the game itself was awful.

Torrential rain ruined the substance of the game, but Brady still managed 269 yards in the air to lead the Bucs to a 19-17 victory. Sure he was in a different jersey, but it’s hard to boo the six Super Bowl rings he gave the Boston faithful, so the bad blood was virtually non-existent...except maybe from a New England head coach point of view.

Peyton Manning returns to Indianapolis, October 2013

Peyton Manning gave everything he had to the Indianapolis Colts franchise, and that stadium and overall team recognition would simply not exist without his contributions. His success came in despite of a stubborn front office who refused to pursue prospect in free agency, die on the hill of failed draft picks, and a refusal to provide protection on the offensive line.

When Manning suffered a near-career ending neck injury prior to the 2011 season, the Colts found out just how helpless they were without him, going 2-14 (Brady’s Patriots went 11-5 without him a few years prior, fyi) on the year and earning the #1 overall draft pick. They would choose to move on from Manning in favor of perhaps the only draft prospect who had been on his level since in Andrew Luck.

Manning would ultimately prolong his career with the Denver Broncos, finding immediate success. He would return to Indianapolis in the fall of 2013, but rather than a contentious reunion, the Colts did the classy thing by playing a tribute video for him. The Broncos would fall, but Manning would throw for nearly 400 yards and three touchdowns and also a late-game interception. Manning never quite could get out of his own head playing his former team, going 1-2 against them as a Bronco, but he’d ultimately have the last laugh.

In his final season, he’d hoist the Lombardi trophy for a second time in his career, while the Colts, who were blindsided by an early Andrew Luck retirement, have been scrambling to find relevance ever since.

Jimmy Johnson returns to Dallas, November 1999

The breakup between head coach Jimmy Johnson and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was the stuff you typically hear about in a girls’ high school bathroom. The two, despite the on-field success they created, could not get along for long, and towards the end, Jones was even attributed to telling Johnson “anyone” could have won the Super Bowl after the 1993 season with that roster.

Johnson would find his way out of Dallas and into Miami, where he hoped he’d be able to lead Dan Marino to his first ever Super Bowl. Jones, on the other hand, in the ultimate petty move, hired Barry Switzer, an Arkansas grad and fellow former Oklahoma State head coach (as was Johnson).

Switzer would win a Super Bowl with Dallas, who still had a stacked roster, but only lasted four years, and the Cowboys have been has-beens ever since. Johnson showed promise with the Dolphins, but the unfortunate injury issues suffered by Marino ultimately torpedoed any shot of postseason success.

By the time Johnson returned to Dallas, four seasons later, most fans were past the feud, and the Cowboys would win 20-0. It wasn’t until this past December that the bad blood finally settled, and Johnson was finally inducted into the Cowboys Ring of Honor.

Brett Favre returns to Green Bay, November 2009

Talk about petty breakups...this one takes the cake.

After teasing retirement for back-to-back seasons, the Packers decided to invest in the future by drafting QB Aaron Rodgers in 2005. Murmurs kept up about his imminent retirement three more seasons until 2008, when he finally decided to retire...at least for a minute.

The Packers fully invested in moving on, and even drafted a potential insurance policy for Rodgers with a second-round pick on record-breaking former Louisville QB Brian Brohm and a late-round pick on national champion QB Matt Flynn. Then Favre, as he was known to do, had second thoughts. He wanted back. The Packers said not this time, and he wasn’t happy.

He first made his way to the New York Jets, a horrible fit, in 2008, “retired” again in an obvious farce in order to be released, and then signed with the Minnesota Vikings, the ultimate NFC North rival of the Packers. Nothing petty about that.

It wouldn’t be until his second season with the Vikings he would travel back to Green Bay, in which he torched his former team with four touchdowns and a victory. He would ultimately go 2-2 vs. his former team, but they moved on just fine without him, securing a Super Bowl and three MVPs under Aaron Rodgers and now appear to be in good shape with Jordan Love.

Russell Wilson returns to Seattle

It wouldn’t be a true awkward reunion list if Wilson’s return to Seattle wasn’t included.

After being traded to the Broncos, who he then signed a massive extension with, members Broncos Country and the 12th Man had their opinions. There was clearly bad blood between Wilson and Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, but who was really the “bad guy”?

The Broncos thought they were getting a weapon to fight Patrick Mahomes, while the Seahawks thought they were ridding themselves of drama and a best-days-are-behind-him QB. As it turns out, the Seahawks were right.

In a primetime opening matchup, Wilson would return to Seattle with a new-look, supposedly offensive centric team.

The former Super Bowl winner wasn’t bad, per se, vs. his old team, throwing for 340 yards and a TD, but he struggled mightily inside the 20, resorted to quick dump offs more often than not, and had trouble continuing drives.

Yet, the key takeaway from the game wouldn’t be Wilson’s performance, but rather inexperienced head coach Nathaniel Hackett’s boneheaded decision to attempt a 60+ yard field goal while not calling timeout rather than give Wilson the opportunity to keep the drive alive.

The result would be a missed field goal, a Seahawks win, Seattle QB Geno Smith being over-revered, and the Broncos finding themselves in an absolute mess in every way imaginable.

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