While Drew Brees has been out with five cracked ribs and a collapsed lung, the Saints have continued to look like the NFC’s best team. They’re now 10-2 and have clinched a playoff berth following a 21-16 victory over the division-rival Falcons, moving to 3-0 with Taysom Hill at quarterback.
Brees initially said he’d be back in “no time” in mid-November. But now that Brees is eligible to come off injured reserve after sitting out three weeks, head coach Sean Payton didn’t sound like a man anticipating his quarterback would be on the field in the near future.
“I honestly wouldn’t be able to give you a time frame,” Payton said, via Katherine Terrell of TheAthletic.com. “He’s like a handful of the other guys that are down there working their tails off to get back healthy, 100 percent, and we’ll kind of see when that is.”
The Saints have reconfigured their offense to best suit Hill with Brees on the mend. In three starts, Hill has completed 71 percent of his passes for 543 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He’s also taken 34 carries for 176 yards with four rushing touchdowns.
Illustrating the difference, Brees has rushed for 185 yards in the last eight seasons combined.
Brees has passed for 2,196 yards with 18 touchdowns and three interceptions in 2020.