Saints leave options open for Drew Brees in Week 15 vs Chiefs

The Saints aren’t rushing Drew Brees back from injury but they’re also leaving their options open for Week 15.

As the Kansas City Chiefs prepare to face the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon in one of the single biggest road tests of the 2020 campaign, they are still uncertain who will be quarterbacking their opponent. Will it be future Hall of Famer Drew Brees or will it be backup Taysom Hill?

Hill has started the last four weeks for the Saints as Brees sat on the sidelines with multiple fractured ribs and a punctured lung. The Saints have gone 3-1 in the last month, so there’s no sense of urgency to bring Brees back, and head coach Sean Payton is treating the situation as such.

When speaking to reporters after the team’s Wednesday practice session, Payton noted that they aren’t rushing him back. However the Saints aren’t closing the book on his return.

"“We haven’t ruled anything just because we don’t have to,” Payton said. “He’s got a ways to go still, and he’s someone we’re not gonna just hurry back and just put him in the game."

The safer bet is likely to be on a fifth start for Hill as the Saints keep their eye on the postseason as the most important moment for Brees to be healthy. That said, both teams are in the hunt for a top seed which would go a long way toward getting a healthy roster given the first-round bye that comes with. Consequently, it might help Brees in the long run to return to face the Chiefs.

The Saints were 7-2 with Brees as their starter before he went down with injury. Brees was enjoying another solid year in what might be his final season, with 18 touchdown passes to only 3 interceptions and a 73.5 percent completion rate.