New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees suffered several fractured ribs and a collapsed lung in a Week 10 game against the San Francisco 49ers. About a month later, the former league MVP will still not make his return to the field as he will sit out his fourth straight contest against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

Via Mike Florio of NBC Sports on the Saints' quarterback:

Saints quarterback Drew Brees has missed the minimum number of games for a player on injured reserve. He’ll now miss a fourth.

The Saints did not activate Brees from injured reserve on Saturday. As a result, and as expected, he won’t play on Sunday at Philadelphia.

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New Orleans certainly wants Brees to fully heal from such a worrying injury and won't rush his return. This is why they opted to keep him on the injured reserve list despite being already eligible to come off it. With that, the Saints will continue to rely on Taysom Hill as he draws yet another start.

In addition, the Saints reportedly want to take a long-term approach with handling Brees' injury. Earlier reports suggested a return in their Week 15 showdown against the defending Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs. However, it seems like they will take extra caution with their star quarterback.

Though the Saints are 10-2 on the season, they still have an incentive to bring back Brees ahead of the playoffs given that the top spot of the NFC and the postseason bye is still up for grabs. However, it seems like New Orleans is putting a premium on having him out there at full strength during the playoffs.