Sean Payton Says The Injury Reports Are Inaccurate, So It's Fairly Likely Drew Brees Had His Right Arm Amputated

Sources: #Saints believe QB Drew Brees has a shoulder injury that will likely cause him to miss games, potentially several games.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 21, 2015

MRI confirmed Drew Brees did not suffer serious shoulder injury Sunday, per @edwerderespn. Ability to play depends on response to treatment.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 21, 2015

Brees' MRI showed a bruised rotator cuff. Not torn, per sources. Dr. James Andrews also will take a look at MRI for a second opinion.

— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) September 21, 2015

Payton calls NFL Network report that Brees could miss several games “inaccurate” http://t.co/i6rEkl9JCZ via @WWLAMFM pic.twitter.com/PAULU6diN0

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) September 22, 2015

Good News: The rumors of Drew Brees suffering a season ending shoulder injury are apparently not true.


Bad News: In regards to the Saints season, it probably doesn't matter.

Yeah, I know, I probably should have started with the bad news, right? The problem here is that the best case scenario is still really, really shitty. Even if Drew Brees does play Sunday, which I would imagine is entirely possible given his proclivity to play through injury, he will still be less effective than he was for the first game and a half of this season. A game and a half where a fully healthy Drew Brees was unsuccessful in moving the ball and creating big plays down the field. That's obviously not all on him, considering the line's inability to block with any consistency and the receivers inability to create separation, but it's still a problem nonetheless. The fact of the matter is that Drew Brees probably should miss games. He's 36 years old. He's coming off a down year during which he battled injuries. The shoulder in question, which is clearly not even close to 100%, is the very same one that underwent a potential career ending surgery a decade ago. The best thing for the long term health of Drew Brees is undoubtedly to sit out for a few games and let his body recover to the best of it's abilities. On the other hand, the best thing for the Saints is to have Drew Brees, injured or not, taking snaps for an 0-2 team that is already unlikely to make the postseason. I think us Saints fans know that, for better or worse, Drew Brees has always valued the success of the team over his own well being. However, with the way things are trending, it looks like his passion to play when he probably shouldn't will be doing no one any favors.

Can we get a live feed following around Drew Brees? I know that seems excessive, but it's the only way I am going to believe Sean Payton when he tries to blow a bunch of strawberry flavored smoke up my ass. Sean Payton saying that injury reports are inaccurate is like the CEO of Enron calling Bernie Madoff a criminal. When it comes to his player's health I don't trust Sean Payton as far as I could throw him. He could give a live press conference tomorrow saying that Drew Brees is starting on Sunday, and I wouldn't be fully convinced that he wasn't holding Brees detached right arm behind his back. Know who else was supposedly "just fine"? Jarius Byrd. Oh, you don't know who that is? Yeah, well, neither do Saints fans, because he's basically been MIA since like day two of training camp. You could tell me Jarius Byrd died a month ago and I wouldn't even be the least bit surprised. Meanwhile, Sean Payton has maintained that he's the picture of perfect health. Go figure. 

I am not going to be surprised by any of the pending results. You could tell me Drew Brees is starting against Carolina. You could tell me he's out two weeks. You could tell me he's out ten weeks. Either way, this Saints team looks destined for mediocrity at best. Putting aside my undying need to celebrate Saints wins on Sunday, maybe Drew should finally do what's best for an aging veteran quarterback who has had lingering health issues the last two years. With the way the rest of the team has been performing it looks like it's incredibly unlikely that it's going to matter anyway.