New Orleans coach Sean Payton: ‘Real good chance’ Drew Brees plays Sunday

New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees has never missed a game because of injury in his nine-plus years as the Saints starter.

And coach Sean Payton believes that streak will continue this week when his team travels to Charlotte to play the Panthers.

Payton shared his optimism with Charlotte reporters Wednesday that Brees will play Sunday despite bruising the rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder in last week’s loss.

“He’s on top of the treatments. He’s on top of getting himself ready,” Payton said on a teleconference Wednesday. “It’s not a season-ending injury. And I’m confident that he’ll be up to speed come game time.

“I think our thoughts, and Drew’s the same way, our training staff feels like there’s a real good chance he’s playing for us, and we expect that to happen.”

Brees suffered the injury during the second quarter of last week’s 26-19 home loss to Tampa Bay. He didn’t miss a snap, but his arm strength was clearly affected as the game wore on.

Brees told New Orleans media that he did not throw at practice on Wednesday, but Payton said that won’t be the case for the rest of the week.

“I don’t think his plan or our plan would be for him to prep all week without throwing,” Payton said. “I think he was smart, and we were smart, just paying attention to where he’s at on Wednesday. I would expect, as the week progresses, that to change.”

The Saints would start veteran Luke McCown if Brees can’t play. New Orleans also has rookie Garrett Grayson, whom they drafted in the third round of this spring’s draft.

But several Panthers players and Rivera all said the team is preparing for Brees to play. And even if he doesn’t, the Saints offense will still be mostly the same.

“He’s a tough-minded young man,” Rivera said of Brees. “He loves the game. He plays the game because he loves the game. If there’s a way for him to play, he’s going to play.

“We’re going to prepare for what they do. For the most part we prepare for him. If we get the other guy then so be it. But we’ll have prepared for their best shot, that’s for sure.”

This story was originally published September 23, 2015 at 5:32 PM with the headline "New Orleans coach Sean Payton: ‘Real good chance’ Drew Brees plays Sunday."