Saints quarterback Drew Brees posts video of him throwing footballs

After New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees had surgery to repair his injured right thumb on Sept. 18, he said he would be out "six to eight weeks." That timeline may have changed on Saturday.

The future Hall of Fame quarterback posted three short videos on Instagram on Saturday of him throwing a total of four passes. He also caught a ball in one of the videos. Though he is shown wearing a small wrap on his right thumb and wrist, he is throwing seemingly without pain.

Brees included the following caption with the post: "Shhhhhhhhh...." He also added three emojis: a shushing face, a thumbs up and a winking face. The post immediately started speculation that Brees could return before the six-to-eight week window.

The Saints quarterback was injured in the first quarter of a Week 2 loss to the Los Angeles Rams when Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald hit Brees' hand during a pass. An evaluation revealed the Brees had a torn UCL ligament in his right thumb, which required surgery.

At the end of September Brees hinted to New Orleans sports radio talk show host and former Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert that he had an accelerated plan to return. "As far as the timetable for getting back though, they say six to eight weeks," Brees told Hebert. "I think I can beat that, but I'm just gonna take it one week at a time and see how things go."

The Saints' game against Tampa Bay on Sunday will be just the fourth game in his New Orleans career -- dating to 2006 -- that Brees has missed due to injury, and just his sixth overall. The Saints are a 3-point favorite against the Buccaneers. Excluding the loss to the Rams, New Orleans is 2-0 without Brees, with victories over the Seahawks and Cowboys.

The Saints remain the favorites to win the NFC South, at -175. They are the second choice to win the NFC, at +500, behind only the Cowboys (+450). And they're the fourth choice to win the Super Bowl, at +1200, behind the Patriots (+250), Chiefs (+350) and Cowboys (+1000).

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