New Orleans Saints News & Rumors

While it would aid the Saints’ Super Bowl hopes if Drew Brees were able to suit up against the Chiefs on Sunday, it is starting to look like that will be a long shot.

The future Hall of Fame passer does not have a return timetable, and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com notes the Saints want to see their starter have a full range of motion before returning. Brees would not have been able to play against the Eagles and is expected to be questionable “at best” to suit up against the Chiefs. Brees’ last throwing session did not go especially well, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (video link). He will attempt to throw again Wednesday.

This comes several days after Schefter reported Brees was progressing well and was a good bet to return for the Chiefs matchup. The Saints are hoping Brees can practice on a limited basis this week, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com adds (video link). New Orleans still holds a de facto three-game NFC South lead, thanks to its sweep of Tampa Bay, and has games against Minnesota and Carolina on tap to close the regular season.

Brees suffered numerous cracked ribs and a punctured lung last month, and the Saints have used Taysom Hill as their starter over the past four games. New Orleans’ loss in Philadelphia, however, gave Green Bay the inside track on the NFC’s lone bye. No team has qualified for a Super Bowl without a bye since 2012, and the Saints have only won one road playoff game in franchise history. However, more teams figure to advance to Super Bowls sans byes in the coming years due to the new playoff format, and a trip to Green Bay this season would not be as daunting for playoff teams — due to COVID-19 attendance restrictions. The Saints are one game up on the Rams and Seahawks for the NFC’s No. 2 seed.

Saints QB Drew Brees is making good progress in his recovery from 11 fractured ribs and a collapsed lung, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com details. The 41-year-old passer is eligible to come off injured reserve for New Orleans’ matchup with the Eagles next Sunday, and there is a chance that he will indeed be back in action then.

Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network also hears that Brees is approaching full health, though he says that the Saints may hold out the future Hall of Famer until the team’s Week 15 bout with the Chiefs (video link). Regardless, head coach Sean Payton will have a critical decision to make soon.

Payton and the Saints have long considered Taysom Hill to be Brees’ successor, and in his first two games as the team’s starting QB, Hill has not disappointed. In a Week 10 win against the Falcons, he threw for 223 yards on an efficient 18-for-23 passing, and he has scored four rushing TDs on nearly five yards-per-carry over the past two weeks. His Week 13 passing effort was nothing to write home about — nine of 16 for 78 yards and a pick — but he didn’t need to do much through the air for the Saints to roll to a 31-3 win over the QB-less Broncos.

Obviously, Brees will be reinserted into the starting lineup soon, but Hill’s performance has given the Saints the option to be patient with Brees’ return. As of now, it continues to look as though Hill, who signed an extension earlier this year keeping him under club control through 2021, will be New Orleans’ permanent QB next season.