New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees Returns to Practice After Thumb Injury

New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees is getting closer to returning to action as he was back at practice on Thursday according to NOLA.com. The Super Bowl-winning quarterback did not participate in practice, but he was seen wearing a non-contact jersey and doing drills off to the side.

"He looked like he was having a grand ol' time being back out on the field today, even if he wasn't doing the same thing as everyone else. Spent a lot of time in the back just flexing the hell out of his thumb," Luke Johnson of NOLA.com said on Twitter.

This comes on the heels of Brees making his return to the sidelines of Mercedes-Benz Superdome this past Sunday when the Saints defeated the Dallas Cowboys. Brees has been out of action since the second week of the season due to a thumb injury he suffered against the Los Angeles Rams. He had surgery on the thumb a few days later in L.A. and is scheduled to miss six weeks of action. However, because his process is going well, Brees could return when the Saints take on the Arizona Cardinals at the end of this month.

Brees was recently on WWL radio and he said the thumb is getting stronger each and every day. One of the things Brees wasn't doing at practice was throwing the football, but the way his thumb is progressing and that could happen very soon. One of the things that has helped Brees is the new technology he is using to help heal the thumb a little quicker than normal.

"He had an internal brace put in his thumb," NFL insider Jay Glazer said on the show, Fox NFL Sunday. "He's been out here in Los Angeles the last couple of weeks. (Brees) said, 'It's crazy. I'm already able to grip a little bit. The pain tolerance is going all the way down.' He says, 'My problem is next week when I'm expecting not to have any pain and I'm actually going to be able to grip the ball, I'm going to have to hold myself back from thinking I'm good to go.' But he's really looking at five weeks. This wouldn't have been five weeks without this new technology."

Brees is the NFL's all-time leader in passing yards with 74,845. He led the Saints to a Super Bowl win in 2009 and he was named Super Bowl MVP.