New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has all but confirmed that backup Teddy Bridgewater will play in the regular-season finale against the Carolina Panthers.
“I’m excited for him,” Brees said per Josh Katzenstein of the Times-Picayune. “I think there’s no doubt he’s going to get some playing time. It’s just a matter of how much. He’s the kind of guy who prepares to play every week.”
The Saints secured home-field advantage with last week’s victory over the Steelers and have nothing left to play for on Sunday. That means Brees and the rest of the team’s starters are unlikely to play much, if at all against Carolina.
Saints coach Sean Payton hasn’t completely come out and said that they will sit the starters for Week 17, and instead said he's treating this game like any other. But the expectation is that Bridgewater and the rest of the backups will get a good amount of the playing time.
Brees currently has 3,992 passing yards this season and needs eight more yards to keep his impressive streak of throwing for at least 4,000 yards every year since 2005 alive. However, Brees isn’t all that concerned if his streak finally came to an end by virtue of him not playing.
“No, it doesn’t,” Brees said when asked if the 4,000-yard mark held significance. “Not at all. It doesn’t define me at all.”
As for Bridgewater, he could be set for his first extended piece of playing time since the 2015 season. He suffered a devastating knee injury in the 2016 offseason and has appeared in just five games over the last two years with three total pass attempts.
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