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It will be a few weeks before the New Orleans Saints take the field with Drew Brees at quarterback again, but he’s received some tips for managing the serious ribs and lung injuries he suffered in Week 10’s win over the San Francisco 49ers.
And the advice comes from someone who would know: Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, who dealt with a similar diagnosis in 2018. Unlike Brees, he was able to play through the injury, though he was noticeably limited. When asked what he would say to Brees as he works to return to the field, Watson preached caution.
He acknowledged that quarterbacks should always look to avoid unnecessary hits, but in their case — Watson was forced to travel to a road game by bus, not airplane, out of an abundance of caution — it’s doubly vital to protect yourself.
“For me, as I think about that moment, it was tough,” Watson said, via Mark Lane over at Texans Wire. “It was a lot of uncomfortable pain and breathing, especially with the punctured lung. You can’t really do too much. You’ve got to really let it just kind of heal.”
Watson added that he was able to avoid surgery while recovering from his own set of broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung, and if that’s the case for Brees, then rest is the only cure. He continued, “A lot of rest, a lot of treatments of breathing and really just kind of — it’s all about the rest.”
That’s a tough pill to swallow for a competitor as driven as Brees, but at the end of the day he’ll be following doctor’s orders. And in this case, it might mean more time on the couch than he’s used to. But it will have been worth it if he’s healthy and rested come January’s NFL playoffs.
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