Drew Brees says ongoing lawsuit has been “very stressful”

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Saints quarterback Drew Brees returned to New Orleans in time to take part in the final two days of the team’s minicamp, but he missed all of last week and the start of this one while testifying in a California courtroom.

Brees is suing a jeweler he claims defrauded him out of millions of dollars by lying about the value of jewelry he sold to Brees. The jeweler has denied the charges and the case has continued to play out without Brees over the last couple of days.

Brees said on Thursday that it has been “very stressful” to deal with the lawsuit at the same time that the team was going through the offseason program.

“Very tough,” Brees said, via the New Orleans Advocate. “Obviously I’m the quarterback of this football team and I want to be with this team. Unfortunately there were things a bit out of our control that we had to take care of. So we take care of that and take life as it comes.”

The trial is expected to conclude well ahead of the start of training camp this summer.