Sean Payton: Brees unlikely to go on IR

Saints QB Drew Brees is set to have surgery on his throwing hand today in Los Angeles and the team is preparing for a tough stretch of games without the man who’s captained their prolific offense.

Reports indicate the injury could take six weeks to fully heal, but Coach Sean Payton says any timeline is premature until after the procedure is done. That being said, it’s unlikely we’ll see Drew on IR.

“I know just having texted with him and visiting with our trainers and doctors that we are optimistic.”

Payton says he will not name a starting quarterback for this Sunday’s afternoon game against the Seahawks in Seattle. That means we could get a heavy dose of both Teddy Bridgewater and Taysom Hill.

“We will approach this game with two quarterbacks and see where we are at with it. We will have the right plan relative to what those guys are doing.”

This week’s game will be followed by a Sunday night home game against the Cowboys.

Many fans are concerned about seeing backup QB Teddy Bridgewater get extended snaps after the offense floundered against the Rams last Sunday, but Payton says it was just one game.

“If you watch the tape closely from last week, you watch it, you study it, you see that there were some tough situations that would have been difficult for any of our guys playing.”