Brees is unlikely to play in Thursday's preseason game at Cleveland, John DeShazier of the Saints' official site reports.

EDGE Analysis

As is often the case in the preseason, teams will cap the reps of established veterans. For the Saints, Brees and newcomer Adrian Peterson are expected to stick to the sideline. If Brees indeed sits out, backup quarterback Chase Daniel will receive the initial reps with the offense before giving way to Garrett Grayson and Ryan Nassib.

Head coach Sean Payton said Brees plans to play for two-to-four more seasons, NOLA.com's Larry Holder reports.

EDGE Analysis

Brees celebrated his 38th birthday two weeks after the end of the 2016 season -- a campaign in which he threw for 5,208 yards and 37 touchdowns. There was talk of his decline early in the 2015 season, but he 's since proven beyond a shadow of doubt that he's still one of the best quarterbacks in the league. As always, the Saints are looking to rebuild their defense in the offseason, hoping to put a competitive roster around Brees for the first time since 2013. The team did trade wideout Brandin Cooks to the Patriots, but with Michael Thomas and Willie Snead joined out wide by free-agent signing Tedd Ginn, the 38-year-old quarterback shouldn't have any trouble finding open receivers. He should have at least two or three more years left in the tank, assuming he wants to keep playing.

Brees completed 29 of 50 passes for 350 yards, two touchdowns and a pick in Sunday's loss to Atlanta.

EDGE Analysis

Despite a back-breaking pick in the end zone midway through the fourth quarter, Brees led the Saints' frantic fourth-quarter comeback rally with touchdown strikes to Michael Thomas and Travis Cadet. It wasn't enough and the Saints end the season with another so-so record: not quite bad enough to rebuild, but not good enough in an improving NFC South. The popular answer to the Saints' woes in recent off-seasons has been to point the finger at Sean Payton and Brees and, though the veteran pitched some ugly performances down the stretch, he actually had his best statistical season in several years. Brees managed to top 5,000 yards passing and 35 touchdowns for the first time since 2013.

Brees completed 23 of 34 passes for 299 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions in Saturday's 31-24 win over the Bucs. He also gained a yard on four rushes.

EDGE Analysis

Brees bounced back from a sub-par, three-interception outing against this same Bucs squad two weeks prior, coming within a yard of his fourth 300-yard outing in the last five games. He was effective downfield when called upon, and otherwise let Mark Ingram carry a sizable load of the offense on his shoulders. Factoring in Saturday's production, Brees needs just 142 yards passing in Week 17 versus the Falcons for the fifth 5,000-yard season of his career.

Brees completed 37 of 48 passes for 388 yards and four touchdowns in Sunday's wild 48-41 win at Arizona.

EDGE Analysis

Brees lost a fumble in the second quarter that was returned for a touchdown. That was practically his only mistake, especially in the first half, when he completed 16 of 20 passes for 188 yards and three touchdowns, including a pretty 65-yard score to Brandin Cooks. After not throwing a single touchdown pass in two straight games, Brees more than made up for it Sunday, matching his season high in scoring strikes. He'll look to keep it going next week at home against Tampa Bay.

Brees (rest) practiced in full Thursday.

EDGE Analysis

Head coach Sean Payton told Mike Triplett of ESPN.com that Brees was listed as a limited participant Wednesday in to hold him to a "pitch count." The preceding has been done in the past with the 37-year-old quarterback, per Payton, but never reached the point where Brees could be considered "limited". With his workload back to normal, Brees will now take aim at a Cardinals defense that hasn't allowed a 300-yard passer this season, yet the unit has allowed six touchdown passes to QBs over the last three games.

Brees was listed as limited on Wednesday's for non-injury reasons. Afterward, he noted that the capped practice was "just [for] rest", according to Mike Triplett of ESPN.com.

EDGE Analysis

Brees has been an iron man as a member of the Saints, missing just two contests in nearly 11 seasons with the organization. And one of those occurred at the end of the 2009 regular season that concluded with a victory in Super Bowl XLIV. He is coming off back-to-back zero-TD, three-interception performances, so perhaps head coach Sean Payton is using the tactic as a means to refocus his franchise quarterback. Brees is just 830 yards short of the fifth 5,000-yard campaign of his career with three games remaining, so he'll aim to bounce back Sunday against a Cardinals defense with injury concerns across the back end.

Brees completed 25 of 41 passes for 257 yards and no touchdowns with three interceptions in Sunday's 16-11 loss to the Buccaneers.

EDGE Analysis

Expected to bounce back from a dismal performance last week against the Lions, Brees found the going even tougher, managing his second-lowest yardage output of the season while throwing three interceptions for the second straight game. He saw his team drop to 5-8 with this latest loss, all but guaranteeing they miss the playoffs this season, and he will look to rebound next week against the Cardinals as he looks to close the season out on a high note.

Brees was 31-for-44 passing for 326 yards and three interceptions during Sunday's 28-13 loss to the Lions.

EDGE Analysis

Coming off the high of a 49-21 pummeling of the Rams, Brees racked up 300 yards for a league-best eighth time in 12 games and amazingly nailed his average yards per game right on the head (326). On a sour note, the Saints succeeded on just one of three red-zone visits just one week removed from scoring touchdowns on all five of them. Despite allowing a field goal on the first possession after halftime, Brees and company were still in striking distance at 16-6, but the quarterback sprinkled three interceptions and just one touchdown drive among the team's five opportunities, ruining any chance at a comeback. Now two games behind the Falcons and potentially the Buccaneers in the NFC South standings, he'll now prepare for a key road matchup next Sunday with the latter.

Brees completed 28 of 36 passes for 310 yards and four touchdowns in Sunday's win against the Rams. He added another touchdown on a one-yard quarterback sneak.

EDGE Analysis

Brees feasted on what had been a solid Rams' secondary and his rushing touchdown was pure gravy for his fantasy owners. Per usual, Brees shined at home, completing passes to eight different pass catchers, although, surprisingly, none to top receiver Brandin Cooks. The Saints have a favorable matchup in Week 13 -- a home tilt against a malleable Lions' pass defense -- so Brees should again be an excellent option for fantasy owners.