METAIRIE - Reports indicate that the condition of Drew Brees' shoulder may allow him to play this coming Sunday against Carolina.

Ed Werder of ESPN tweeted Tuesday that he believes Brees is a "reasonable possibility" for the game this week, depending on how the Saints QB's shoulder responds to rehab and treatment.

On Monday, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported that an MRI of Brees' shoulder shows a bruise of the rotator cuff and not a tear as previously reported. Renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews is scheduled to take a look at the MRI to give a second opinion.

WWL-TV reports there was no word on whether or not Brees would miss significant time with the injury, but it does seem that the Saints have dodged a worst-case scenario at this point.

Brees took several hard hits from Tampa Bay's defense as they ripped holes in the Saints' offensive line in the first half of last Sunday's game.

Brees downplayed the impact following the game, saying he may have been affected "on a few throws… Everybody's dealing with something, so you bounce back."

On Monday, head coach Sean Payton said it was still too early to call if Brees would be able to take the field against the Panthers this weekend, but did say Brees would be re-evaluated later in the week. Payton appeared on WWL Radio and said reports that his quarterback would miss several games were "inaccurate."

"It's too early to talk about where's he at with his shoulder today," Payton said on WWL Radio. "It's not something that's going to be long term. Both he and the doctors are optimistic."

The Saints are required to file their first injury report of the week on Wednesday.

With the heavy defensive pressure, Brees had trouble getting throws down the field against the Bucs, but he did manage to get the team into position to pull out a win. That win fell apart when a late missed field goal and blocked point after attempt stalled the Saints move to tie the game at 23. The Saints (now 0-2) fell to Tampa Bay by a score of 26-19.

In the Saints first two games, Brees has thrown 54 of 86 for a total of 610 yards with two touchdowns, a pair of interceptions and a quarterback rating of 82.