Brees has yet to play for Chargers offense

From Staff and Wire Reports

Former Purdue All-American Drew Brees did not play in the San Diego Chargers' preseason opener, a 25-24 win over San Francisco, which has a former Brees mentor, Greg Olson, as its quarterbacks coach.

The rookie quarterback is awaiting his chance to play, which he will probably get Saturday when the Chargers play at Miami.

After nearly three weeks of negotiations that caused Brees to miss the Chargers' first 19 practices, he and agent Tom Condon agreed to a four-year contract with the Chargers Aug. 6 and reported to camp Aug. 7. The deal is reportedly worth roughly $10 million and includes a signing bonus of close to $2 million.

Brees, the first pick in the second round of April's draft, is expected to compete with former CFL star Dave Dickenson for the No. 2 spot behind Doug Flutie.

Under Olson, who left Purdue after four years this March, Brees threw for a Big Ten-record 11,792 yards during his college career. The Austin, Texas, native also set 13 Big Ten records and 19 Purdue records and led the Boilers to their first Rose Bowl in 34 years.

The Chargers drafted him with the first pick (32nd overall) of the second round of the NFL Draft in April.

Brees wanted to be a first-rounder, but after he wasn't one of the first 20 players chosen, he didn't want to get picked by anyone but San Diego, which signed the 38-year-old Flutie as a free agent from the Buffalo Bills in the offseason.

The 6-foot Brees took Purdue to three consecutive bowl games, including the Rose Bowl last season. He has said he's ready to learn under the 5-11 Flutie and San Diego offensive coordinator Norv Turner.

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