Saints quarterback Drew Brees suffered a rib contusion on Sunday against the 49ers, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). He’ll undergo an MRI to check for cartilage damage, but the Saints are already bracing for Brees to miss time. 
Brees took a big hit late in the first half and initially stayed in the game before telling Sean Payton at halftime that he wouldn’t be able to continue. Interestingly, the injury report indicated that Brees had suffered a shoulder injury — a sign that he’s dealing with multiple ailments, rather than just the ribs. Jameis Winston filled in for Brees after he was forced out, completing 6-10 passes for 63 yards.
Winston may be in line to start for the Saints this week, when they face the Falcons. Of course, Taysom Hill is also on the depth chart, giving Payton a couple of possible options to start.
Historically, Brees has always found a way to play through the pain. Over the course of his 20-year career, he’s missed just six games — mostly due to the thumb ligament tear he suffered last year. In his stead, Teddy Bridgewater went 5-0 as the Saints’ starter. If Brees misses an extended stretch, there could be a real opportunity for Winston to reassert himself in similar fashion. Bridgewater later parlayed his performance into a three-year Panthers deal worth $63MM, with a whopping $40MM guaranteed in the first two years.
2nd time in recent history brees has been absolutely rocked by niners D and got bogus roughing the passer calls from it. last time was ahmad brooks almost beheading him w a legal hit to the torso. brees pulled another bogus penalty on a totally legal hit yesterday
He got landed on. Can’t do that in today’s game.
he barely got landed on link to youtube.com
popped a lung tho
I can’t believe he broke his own ribs just to get a 15 yard penalty call. The things that players will do in today’s game! No integrity.
Hard to get beheaded on a hit to the torso but whatever.
link to youtube.com
crazy huh, legal hit. flagged cuz drew brees