LOS ANGELES — Drew Brees said he doesn’t know the severity of a thumb injury that knocked him out of Sunday’s loss to the Rams in the first quarter, but did acknowledge he was worried about it.
“Yeah, I am concerned,” said Brees, who plans to see a hand specialist in Los Angeles. “I’m hoping it’s not too significant.”
Brees was replaced by Teddy Bridgewater late in the first quarter Sunday after his right (throwing) hand hit Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald‘s hand at the end of an incomplete pass. Brees had his right thumb and lower hand/wrist area taped by a trainer on the bench.
A closeup of the wrap on Drew Brees’ hand. pic.twitter.com/xPw7wGW59G
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“It was hard [for him] to grip the ball,” coach Sean Payton said when asked if he ever thought about inserting Brees back in the game. “Didn’t think that unless we were running hand offs every play.”
Bridgewater finished the game for Brees, going 17-of-30 for 165 yards in a 27-9 loss to the Rams.
Brees, 40, has missed only one start due to injury since high school — when he missed a Week 3 game at the Carolina Panthers in 2015 with a shoulder injury. He also suffered a major shoulder injury in the final game of the 2005 season with the San Diego Chargers, but he returned in time for Week 1 with the Saints the following year.
Brees completed three of his first five passes before leaving the game Sunday. He threw an interception that was knocked out of tight end Jared Cook’s hands on the opening drive.
The Saints have one of the league’s best insurance policies in Bridgewater, who is the NFL’s highest-paid backup quarterback at $7.25 million this season. The Saints traded a third-round draft pick to acquire Bridgewater from the New York Jets following the 2018 preseason and re-signed him to a one-year deal in March.