Drew Brees to undergo thumb surgery, miss around 6 weeks

Drew Brees underwent an MRI on Monday to determine the severity of his thumb injury, and the news was not great for the New Orleans Saints.

Brees suffered a torn ligament in his thumb in Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He will undergo surgery and is expected to be sidelined for at least six weeks.

#Saints QB Drew Brees has a torn ligament in his throwing thumb and he’s going to require surgery, sources say. The timeframe depends on the surgery, but he’s likely out 6 weeks. That’s the initial estimate.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 16, 2019

Brees has missed just three games during his 13-plus seasons with the Saints, and they will now turn to Teddy Bridgewater for the foreseeable future. Six weeks would keep Brees out through Week 8, and the Saints have a bye in Week 9. It may make the most sense for New Orleans to place him on injured reserve with a designation to return, which would make Brees eligible to play again in Week 11.

The Saints have plenty of talent on their roster, so they should be able to remain in playoff contention while Brees is sidelined. Bridgewater is a serviceable backup who hasn’t been given many chances since his devastating knee injury several years ago, but the Saints are confident he can lead their offense. If they can stay around .500 while Brees it out, they should be squarely in the playoff hunt when he returns.