Saints focused on Brees’ health
Published 4:02 am Tuesday, September 22, 2015
- New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) scrambles under pressure from Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end George Johnson (94) in the first half of an NFL football game Sunday in New Orleans.
METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Saints coach Sean Payton isn’t ready to say whether he expects Drew Brees to miss snaps because of a hit he took to his throwing arm.
“It’s early right now. Today’s the day after (the injury),” Payton said when asked if he’d consider resting Brees this Sunday at Carolina. “Certainly we’ll do the best thing for him and where he’s at.”
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Brees was in the locker room Monday when it was open to reporters. He usually does not do interviews on Mondays and that was again the case. His outward appearance in the locker room offered no hint at anything unusual, but on Sunday he had acknowledged that one of the hits he took hurt his throwing shoulder and probably affected him on some throws.
Brees, who hasn’t missed a start because of injury since joining the Saints in 2006, never left Sunday’s 26-19 loss to Tampa Bay. He didn’t play to his usual standard of 300-plus yards and multiple touchdowns. He passed for 255 yards and one touchdown. His 16-yard scoring pass to first-year receiver Willie Snead came in the fourth quarter, well after Brees’ right shoulder injury in the second quarter.
“Obviously, I saw he wasn’t putting a lot of zip on the ball down the field, like past 30 yards,” Snead said of the Saints’ 36-year-old quarterback.
But on shorter throws, Snead said, “I felt like he was putting a lot of velocity on the ball. I didn’t really see a difference. But I could tell his arm was hurting. Hopefully he’s OK.”
