Report: Saints 'Bracing' for Drew Brees 'To Miss Some Time' with Rib Injury

New Orleans Saints star Drew Brees suffered a rib contusion in Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers, and the team is "bracing for Brees to miss some time to fully heal," according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

He will undergo an MRI on Monday to examine any cartilage damage.

Brees didn't play the second half of the Week 10 game after taking a big hit early.

"When I came out in the second half and started throwing the ball, it became really apparent that I wasn't gonna be effective," he said afterwards, per Mike Triplett of ESPN. "I can't really describe it other than it was preventing me from doing my job.

Through his first 13 years with the Saints, the veteran quarterback missed a total of three games. He was out for five games in 2019 alone thanks to a thumb injury.

With Brees turning 42 in February and Teddy Bridgewater now with the Carolina Panthers, the Saints needed to have a good contingency plan in place and handed Jameis Winston a one-year, $1.1 million contract.

The 26-year-old made his debut in garbage time in a 38-3 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9. One week later, the rib injury to Brees forced him into action.

In 2019, Winston underlined the good and bad sides of his game when he became the first player ever with 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in the same year.

The big-play potential is still there for the Saints offense with the Florida State product under center, but the odds of a costly turnover—Brees had 32 interceptions between 2016 and 2019—do rise. However, it's still a better trade-off than most teams have to make when turning to a backup.