New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is still on the mend from multiple broken ribs and a collapsed lung, but he is doing all he can to return for this weekend's showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Brees returned to practice Wednesday, a strong first step in terms of his status for Sunday afternoon's game against the defending champions.

The veteran quarterback has not played since sustaining the injuries during a Week 11 win over the Atlanta Falcons.

Taysom Hill has started in Brees' place, leading the Saints to wins in two of their last three games. But last weekend's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles dropped New Orleans to the No. 2 seed in the NFC. This is imperative, considering only the No. 1 seeds from each conference will receive a bye in the expanded playoff format.

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Thus, Brees' return to action would seemingly be all the more important against the top team in the AFC.

The former All-Pro's injury came at a frustrating time. Brees struggled to move the ball downfield in the team's first three games, with the Saints going 1-2 to start the year. Most of his passing numbers came in garbage time with the game mostly out of hand. But he would soon find quite the rhythm.

Brees led the Saints to five straight wins, posting a quarterback rating of at least 109.8 in three straight games between Week 8 and Week 10. But the scary injury suffered in Week 11 might have set him back a bit.

The Saints will monitor Brees' progress in practice prior to making a final determination on his status for Sunday.