New Orleans Saints starting quarterback Drew Brees was absent during Tuesday’s organized team activity, putting backup Teddy Bridgewater into the top spot. Bridgewater was by all accounts outstanding in practice, finding paydirt with three of his four attempts in the red zone. Sean Fazende of FOX8-New Orleans recorded receivers Tre’Quan Smith, Austin Carr, and Michael Thomas with each catching a touchdown pass from Bridgewater, while Larry Holder of the Athletic noted a lob to Ted Ginn Jr. was just off the mark.
As for Brees not being present: Saints head coach Sean Payton declined to elaborate, telling Josh Katzenstein of the Times-Picayune, “There hasn’t been someone not here that I’m not aware of, so I’ll just leave it at that.”
Mike Triplett of ESPN reported that Brees was in San Diego this week for a court appearance, dealing with a lawsuit against a previous business partner. Katzenstein confirmed the report and noted that proceedings could drag into August. Whether this will continue to require Brees’ presence throughout the summer — taking him off the practice field — remains to be seen.
However, an extended absence from Brees could be good for Bridgewater. There isn’t much for Brees to learn at this stage in his career, though of course he’d like to have more time to develop chemistry with new teammates like rookie center Erik McCoy and veteran tight end Jared Cook. If Brees is able to save his arm from extra throws in practice and Bridgewater is given more opportunities to expand his role in the offense, everyone could end up winning from this.
