Drew Brees plays 8 snaps against Jets in preseason, and here’s why
Drew Brees would like to have played somewhere between 15 and 20 snaps Saturday against the New York Jets.
But the New Orleans Saints saw enough from the quarterback and a handful of other starting players in eight plays to keep them on the sideline.
The Saints scored a touchdown on the only possession with Brees, Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara all on the field. During those eight plays, Brees completed two passes to Thomas and put the ball in Kamara's hands four times -- twice on passes and twice on handoffs.
"I was hoping to get 15 or 20 (snaps)," Brees said. "But I know there was a plan to pull a few of us out after a short while and get some guys work."
The eight snaps are the fewest for Brees in the last three preseasons. Last season, Brees played 17 snaps over three possessions against the Los Angeles Chargers. In 2017, he played 27 snaps over five possessions against the Houston Texans.
Sean Payton said the Saints mapped out a few scenarios that impacted how much playtime Brees and some other starters would get against the Jets.
"A lot of it just falls in the sequence of plays," the coach said.
On a night where the Saints didn’t play expected starting tight end Jared Cook nor backup running back Latavius Murray because of injury, the Saints had no more reason to put their top offensive weapons back in the game.
The lone possession ended with a touchdown pass to Thomas, who caught the ball with two defenders in coverage. Thomas last season set a Saints franchise record for receptions for a second season in a row.
"He caught a couple balls; a couple big plays, right?" Brees said. "So yeah, I mean ... it's only eight plays. Compared to the thousands of snaps we get in practice and everything else together. We're constantly striving to get better and just be as efficient as we possibly can together."
Brees said during the week how his preference always is to play. He also understands the importance of letting others play in the preseason.
Payton said Brees has enough experience to keep his preseason snaps to a minimum.
"It's different for players like him who have plenty of experience and are getting plenty of reps during the week," Payton said. "If it's 12, 13 years ago, a lot of it was dependent on our team, and then you go by what you see in practice and as a coach what you feel."
Also at play could be the growing trend of giving established players less playtime in the preseason. This season, the likes of Philip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers and Jared Goff have logged a total of zero snaps in exhibition games.
When Brees first came to the Saints in 2006, he played three full quarters in the third preseason game. Back then, Brees was still recovering from a severe shoulder injury suffered in his final game with the Chargers. He also had a new offense to learn.
Now, he knows the offense better than anyone else on the field.
"He looked sharp during the week in practice," Payton said Saturday. "And he looked sharp tonight."