Drew Brees to make preseason debut for Saints vs. Colts
Drew Brees is ready to make his preseason debut for the New Orleans Saints on Saturday night against the Indianapolis Colts after a two-week absence nursing an oblique strain.
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After Thursday’s practice head coach Sean Payton declared the former Super Bowl MVP “ready to go” and will play about a half in the team’s dress rehearsal for the regular season opener.
"“I thought he looked pretty sharp tonight. There were a handful of throws that were exceptional,” said Payton, who pointed out the way Brees was gradually increasing his workload off to the side during practice over the past two weeks. “I think we’ve handled it the right way, and he is pretty smart and he knew where he was at. My only concern was [whether] we had set our mind on a game maybe, and that really shouldn’t dictate his healing."
Brees has passed for more than 5,000 three straight seasons and there is no reason to believe he won’t reach that plateau again this season, especially when he has first round pick Brandin Cooks to throw too this season.
The chemistry Brees shows with Cooks in Saturday night’s game will be one intriguing storyline for Saturday’s contest, but the most important thing for Brees will be knocking off any rust that he may have after taking two weeks off to get healthy.
A minor subplot for the game will be fantasy football owners who have yet to hold their draft and can now draft Brees with confidence in their leagues.