The New Orleans Saints have been playing the last few weeks without their starting quarterback. Despite the fact that backup signal caller Teddy Bridgewater has performed admirably, doing everything he can to have the Saints sitting at 6-1, New Orleans hasn’t had Drew Brees under center since he suffered a torn right thumb ligament against the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 15.
While the team would assuredly be fine rolling with Bridgewater — New Orleans has won all five games he has started — Brees’ return appears to be imminent. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the expectation is that Brees will start for the Saints when they host the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon.
Via ESPN:
Barring an unforeseen setback, the New Orleans Saints plan to start Drew Brees at quarterback Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, sources said.
Brees has been out since Sept. 15, when he suffered a torn ligament in the thumb on his passing hand as he made contact with the outstretched hand of Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald. Dr. Steven Shin performed surgery on the thumb the following week in Los Angeles, and the expectation was that Brees would miss about six weeks.
Brees has been practicing this week, and while the Saints have a bye next week and could opt to give him more time to make sure his hand is back at 100 percent, they’ll give him the chance to get some work in before they get to that point. Schefter did point out that, when asked about what will determine if he can go on Sunday, Brees remarked that the decision will come down to “just making sure I can be me.”
A final decision will come before the game. In a little more than four quarters worth of action before going down, Brees went 35-for-48 (72.9 percent) for 408 yards with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions on the year.
