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METAIRIE, La. – The second opinions sought by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees confirmed the initial diagnosis of a collapsed lung and a total of five fractured ribs on both sides of his body, said Wednesday a source at ESPN’s Ed Werder.
Medics have yet to determine a timeline for Brees’ return, the source said, and Saints coach Sean Payton declined to offer any updates on the quarterback’s position on Wednesday morning.
“No update,” Payton said on his media teleconference before joking, “I’m eating a bagel. I was hoping to chew it up when you asked for it.”
Payton told reporters on Monday it wouldn’t be to the Saints’ advantage to announce their starting quarterback earlier in the week – although he suggested on his weekly WWL radio show Monday night that Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill would be part of the plan. if Brees was not available.
Winston played most of the second half in New Orleans’ 27-13 win over the San Francisco 49ers after Brees suffered an injury on Sunday. But Hill, who is used in an occasional rhythm-changing role for the Saints as a heavy quarterback even when Brees is in good health, played seven shots at QB during the second half.
“Both of these young players have grown and moved forward, understanding what we’re doing, and we have a level of confidence in both players,” Payton said of Winston and Hill on Wednesday morning. “They’re different types of players. But I think it’s a solid room, and we’re going to be leaning heavily on a few of these other guys right now.”
The Saints have not made any official statement on Brees’ status for Sunday’s next meeting with the Atlanta Falcons. And they have yet to decide to place him on the injured reserve – which would require him to miss at least three games.
Brees shared a photo Monday night of himself breathing into a spirometer, which is typically used for the lungs. Brees was surrounded by his children in the photo, with the caption: “I have the best medical team in the world … I’ll be back in no time!”
Remarkably, Brees stayed in the game for the final eight minutes of the first half on Sunday after absorbing a big blow from 49ers defensive tackle Kentavius Street – finishing one touchdown, then completing five assists on another TD practice. However, he could not continue in the second half.
A source told Werder that Brees broke two ribs on his right side during the first half of the 49ers game – and that doctors believed those fractures could have punctured his lung, creating pneumothorax. Medics also discovered three fractured ribs on Brees’ left side, which allegedly occurred a week earlier in a 38-3 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The left side fractures did not appear as such on the x-ray taken at the time, possibly due to inflammation, a source told Werder. Brees also suffered a right throwing shoulder injury that limited him to training for the past two weeks.
Brees sent his x-rays, CT scans and reports to other doctors to confirm the initial diagnosis, a source told Werder.
Brees, 41, has missed just six games with injury in his 20-year NFL career, including five last season due to a torn thumb ligament. The Saints went 5-0 in that streak, with Teddy Bridgewater replacing Brees as a starter.
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