On Saturday afternoon, reports began to emerge that Saints quarterback Drew Brees will play on Sunday, six weeks to the day after tearing a thumb ligament and consistent with the timeline reported three weeks ago. Not long after that, a statement from the team appeared on social media, tweeted by among others ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The statement was a fake, but not an obvious fake. It was based on the statement issued by agent David Falk in March 1995, when Michael Jordan returned to the NBA with two words: “I’m back.”
It’s an obscure reference from nearly a quarter-century ago, and it doesn’t really fit with these circumstances. Brees isn’t unretiring; Brees is returning from an injury that caused him to miss five games.
So it’s understandable that some in the media ate the trash on this one, because sometimes trash isn’t obviously trash. And sometimes jokes simply aren’t all that funny.
Regardless of any real or fake statements, it sure looks like Brees will be playing today. And as Big Cat said on Friday’s PFT Live, that puts plenty of pressure on Brees to perform well, because the Saints were 5-0 without him. If they lose to the Cardinals today, some will ask whether the Saints should have stuck with Teddy Bridgewater for the final pre-bye game, especially since the post-bye contest against the woeful Falcons will be akin to a Triple-A rehab assignment for Brees.
UPDATE 10:33 a.m. ET: The phony statement, per a league source, was originally posted by The Checkdown -- an NFL-owned and NFL-operated Twitter account.
