LOS ANGELES — Drew Brees has played through a sprained MCL, plantar fasciitis and a couple of hand injuries during his 14 seasons with New Orleans.
The Saints quarterback says his status for future games is up in the air, though, after a thumb injury sidelined him during Sunday's 27-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
After the game, the normally positive Brees could not hide his concern that the injury is fairly serious and could keep him out some time.
"I am very concerned," Brees said. "I'm hoping for the best and preparing for whatever the next steps might be according to the evaluation.
Brees said he had X-rays at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, but did not want to say anything until after meeting with the hand specialist, which was expected to happen Sunday night. New Orleans is staying on the West Coast with a game at Seattle next Sunday. ESPN's NFL Insider Adam Schefter tweeted that Brees would not be flying with the team to Seattle and would see the specialist Monday.
Brees was in the shotgun on third-and-8 from the Saints 46 when Donald beat Saints left guard Andrus Peat and got pressure up the middle. Brees' hand hit Donald on an incomplete throw to tight end Jared Cook.
"I felt it right away. You might get jammed thumbs or fingers, different things where it swells up. This felt like it was more significant and prevented me from gripping the ball," said Brees, who was 5 of 8 for 38 yards and an interception.
Donald said he got to Brees at the last minute when he hit his hand and that he was trying to make a play.
Head coach Sean Payton said that he would go through the normal protocol and let the media know about the injury status "in a couple of days."
Brees has missed only three games in his 14 seasons with the Saints with only one due to injury. He suffered a bruised rotator cuff to his right shoulder in 2015 and missed the Week 3 game against Carolina. He did not play in the 2009 and '18 regular-season finales when New Orleans rested its starters before the playoffs.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.