No injured reserve for Drew Brees

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Saints head coach Sean Payton isn’t naming a starting quarterback for this week and he isn’t setting a recovery timeline for Drew Brees.

Payton confirmed that Brees is having surgery on his injured thumb on Wednesday, but didn’t confirm other reports that Brees will miss six weeks while recovering from the operation.

“I’m not gonna speculate on a recovery timeframe,” Payton said, via the Lafayette Daily Advertiser. “But I know just having texted with him and visited with our trainers and doctors, we’re optimistic.”

While Payton didn’t want to speculate, another answer he gave to reporters provided a loose idea of when the Saints expect Brees back. Payton said the plan is not to place Brees on injured reserve, which would free up a roster spot while ensuring Brees would miss the next eight weeks before he’d be eligible to play again.