Once in a while, NFL free agency plays host to history.

Every year, there are big deals. Blockbuster trades. Surprise cuts. But not always does the entire landscape of the league threaten to realign itself thanks to the unprecedented availability of, say, a future Hall of Fame quarterback. That's what happened in 2012, when Peyton Manning -- the Peyton Manning -- hit the open market after racking up only 11 Pro Bowls, four MVP awards and a Super Bowl title in Part One of a record-breaking career.

Six years later, in 2018, that could happen again.

We're referring, of course, to Drew Brees.

Before any of you in New Orleans send your fist through the screen, let's first note that just about everyone fully anticipates the Saints' own 11-time Pro Bowler to stay right where he is. Reports indicate Brees will be talking contract with New Orleans at the scouting combine this week, and CBS Sports' own Jason La Canfora said recently there's no doubt the Saints will be keeping their quarterback.

"He's going to be with the Saints," La Canfora said of Brees on CBS Sports HQ. "The question is, 'At what price point?' I figure it's a three-year deal worth at least $50 to $55 million in the first two years."

And yet, when a player, let alone a quarterback, of Brees' caliber comes so close to the open market without a new deal, there's reason to let the imagination wander. (That's arguably even more so the case with Brees, whose negotiating history and super-agent, Tom Condon, have rarely played the "hometown discount" game.)

So that's what we've done. We've let our collective mind wander. If Brees isn't a Saint in 2018, we'll be stunned. But for now, let's have some fun. If, somehow, some way, Brees made his way into free agency, here are five teams that would make the most sense as serious suitors:

Cleveland Browns

If you think this would be a hard sell for the Browns, you're absolutely right. In fact, you might even be understating it. At age 39, Brees is as intent on competing right now as anyone, and Cleveland isn't a Super Bowl contender even if it nails both of its top-five draft picks. There's way too much uncertainty in and around the organization for someone of Brees' caliber, at this stage in his career, to make such a backward move for the sake of a few more (million) guaranteed dollars.

That said, if we're talking about suitors, why in the world wouldn't the Browns try to be in the mix? They've got more cap space than anyone, a player with Brees' name recognition would bring more hope to Cleveland than anyone else ... ever? And with all their draft capital, it's not as if they'd also be bankrupt of youth, including a potential top-five quarterback, by paying out the wazoo for Brees. If the Browns could clear the unreachable hurdle of bringing No. 9 to Cleveland, they'd potentially be able to a.) surround him with enough talent to make a playoff run in 2017 and instantly spice up the AFC North, and b.) still plan for the future at QB.

When you've wallowed in historic failure as long as they have, why wouldn't it be on the table?

Denver Broncos

This just screams "John Elway," doesn't it? Maybe we're letting the Broncos' all-in pursuit of Manning influence this a little too much, but who really thinks Elway could resist exploring the market for Brees if he hit the market? Like in Cleveland, Denver's also got the ammunition to double dip at QB through the early parts of the draft. And Elway's royal treatment of Manning -- an abrupt and definitive move to make No. 18 the immediate face of the franchise despite the then-freshness of Tim Tebow's playoff run -- should be proof to Brees that, if he were to move northwest at the Broncos' beckoning, he'd have unflinching support from the front office.

Maybe throwing money at Brees isn't the smartest long-term gamble from a Broncos perspective, but we know Elway wants to win, and he wants to win now. That means a complete overhaul of the current QB depth chart. And unless the consensus there is to save the highest of hopes for 2019, when a youngster might finally supplant, say, a bridge option like Sam Bradford, Brees would be the surest answer to competing right away -- much surer than a similarly-priced Kirk Cousins.

Miami Dolphins

Remember when the Dolphins could've had Brees in 2006 but instead opted for Daunte Culpepper? That's not the reason Miami would probably go hard for the Saints pro bowler this time around, but it sure would make for a good story. In reality, no one really knows what's going on at QB under Adam Gase, and that's precisely why Miami makes for a wild card in this hypothetical race. Ryan Tannehill -- remember him? -- is still, in fact, under contract, but he's essentially on option years these days, and there's no telling whether anyone in the Dolphins brass would have qualms about axing him in favor of Brees and, like Cleveland and Denver, a potential draftee for the future.

There's a heavy air of uncertainty that also comes with Miami, which wouldn't bode well for attracting Brees. But if somehow the Dolphins were able to parlay cap-saving moves, like deals involving Jarvis Landry or Ndamukong Suh, into creative roster-building, there's still a decent enough foundation to be competitive. And if Brees is serious about playing into his 40s, who's to say the AFC East won't be completely up for grabs as early as 2019 thanks to the semi-murky futures of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in New England? Maybe, like the Browns, this isn't the most ideal fit for Brees. But it's hard to imagine Gase, who was just fine banking on an old vet in Jay Cutler in 2017 and once coached up Manning during his Broncos stint, not wanting to sniff around here.

Minnesota Vikings

This is the juicy one, and not only for its tinge of Brett Favre-circa-2009 goodness. Minnesota is fresh off an NFC title appearance and yet has more QB questions than anyone in the league as it reportedly prepares for a pursuit of Cousins. There's a very real Saints-Vikings rivalry, so it's fair to wonder whether that would play a big part in any prospective purple offer. But from a competitive perspective, no one has an easier sell than the Vikes. This is a team that offers not only a championship-caliber defense but an offense that already boasts as many, if not more, young weapons than New Orleans -- all of whom, by the way, are fit to play the kind of up-tempo, short-yardage game Brees dominates.

The Vikings could very well be just as content settling for a rerun of the Case Keenum show, especially since that would cost substantially less. But it's not like they don't have the money to get bold. (Hence the apparent interest in Cousins.) If Rick Spielman was serious enough about upgrading the QB spot to give up more than a first-rounder for Bradford in 2016, why would offering Brees a record deal prompt so much as the slightest wince? And if bringing him in seems like wrongly putting all the eggs in a short-term basket, why not capitalize on what figures to be a weak market for Teddy Bridgewater and bring him back, too?

New York Jets

The Jets fall somewhere in between the Browns and Dolphins in that they have an exorbitant amount of cap room to play with and yet remain on the verge of being playoff material. They're not as attractive, talent-wise, as the Broncos or, especially, the Vikings, but they were also a lot better than people thought they'd be in 2017 -- at one point, in November, they were just under .500 and still in the thick of the AFC East race. Also, if they're seriously willing to throw $60 million in Cousins' face just for 2018, imagine just how much they'd think about coughing up for Brees.

New York hasn't been shy about campaigning for big-name QBs before (hey, look, another Favre reference!), but they'd obviously have to convince Brees that any big deal is worth not only the scrutiny of the Big Apple scene but the in-progress state of the Jets roster. At face value, this doesn't look like the best match, and you might even be able to make a better case for Cleveland only because of all the play-makers that could come their way via the draft. Still, you've got the potentially simplified road to the postseason through the AFC East, and you've got, well, the Jets -- a team that's, smartly or not, gone big for big names before.