Drew Brees expected to play against Cowboys

Sunday’s game between the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints is unlikely to be a battle of backup quarterbacks, as Drew Brees has been throwing this week and is expected to play.

Saints coach Sean Payton said Friday afternoon that the plan is for Brees to start against Dallas.

“I think he’s planning on starting and we’re planning on starting him,” Payton said, per Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk. “He looked crisp today. I think he’s going to end up starting and based on the way the week unfolded each day, I felt like he’s made the progress we’re looking for.”

Initial reports indicated that Brees is dealing with a major shoulder injury and could miss multiple games. It should be noted that both he and Payton expressed optimism last week that Brees would be able to play, but Brees wasn’t throwing at that time.

You can see the play where Brees suffered a shoulder injury here.

Brees visited with Dr. James Andrews — who performed surgery on his shoulder earlier in his career — on Monday and received “very positive” feedback. He has been throwing throughout the week and apparently regaining strength in his shoulder, which is a good sign. Brees rarely ever misses a game, so it remains to be seen how productive he will be if he plays on Sunday.