Brees to start Week 15 vs. Chiefs

Drew Brees will return to the lineup and start Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton announced Friday.

Doctors cleared Brees to play and the Saints believe the veteran is fully healthy, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The 41-year-old suffered 11 fractured ribs and a collapsed lung in Week 10. He was designated to return from injured reserve Wednesday and had no setbacks this week after taking first-team reps in practice, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Payton recently said Brees has "a ways to go" in his recovery, but the NFL's all-time leader in passing yards will re-enter the lineup after four games on the sideline.

Taysom Hill started in Brees' absence, winning three of four contests. Hill completed 71.9% of his passes and threw for four touchdowns against two interceptions across those games while also rushing for 209 yards and four scores.

New Orleans had its nine-game winning streak snapped with last week's upset loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Payton's 10-3 squad is currently in a battle for the NFC's No. 1 seed with the Green Bay Packers.

Brees is completing 73.5% of his pass attempts for 18 touchdowns and three interceptions over nine starts this season, averaging 7.4 yards per attempt.