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          On course: Drew Brees, Sean Payton partner up at pro-am

          • Mike Triplett, ESPN Staff WriterApr 27, 2016, 08:18 PM ET
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            • Covered Saints for eight years at New Orleans Times-Picayune
            • Previously covered LSU football, San Francisco 49ers
            • Iowa native and University of Iowa graduate
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          After spending the last two days insisting that he isn’t worried about his contract situation or the New Orleans Saints' future plans at quarterback, Drew Brees hit the links with coach Sean Payton on Wednesday at the Zurich Classic pro-am.

          Brees, who has one year left on his deal, reiterated before his round that he isn’t worried about how long his contract talks have been dragging out, since there is no real deadline in place.

          "I certainly don't take it personal because I've got too good of a relationship with (general manager) Mickey Loomis and Coach Payton, all those involved from the top down. I just understand it's part of the process," Brees said, according to NOLA.com.

          Payton said he called Brees personally last week to ask if he would restructure his contract to create the salary-cap space needed to sign cornerback Josh Norman. But Payton explained that would have been more of a creative bookkeeping procedure than a full long-term extension.

          "(I'm sure people were wondering) how on earth were they going to get a deal done in an hour?” Payton said, per NOLA.com. “That would've been really more of a restructuring to create space, a little different than ultimately what Drew and Mickey and our organization our seeking."

          Brees also said he didn’t think there was any use in talking about the idea of the Saints drafting a QB in Round 1, since he doesn’t think it will happen. But if it does, he said, “I trust Mickey and Sean. If there's somebody there that you feel like is going to be the future of our organization for years to come, then take him, but I don't plan on giving up my job anytime soon.”

          “It wouldn't be the first time that I've been on a time where they took a quarterback in the first round ... to come take my position,” Brees said of the San Diego Chargers taking Philip Rivers in 2004. “And I would take the exact same approach now that I did then, which is, it's my team, it's my job.”