NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- New Orleans Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks will have surgery later this month to repair his throwing shoulder.
The injury prevented him from playing at 100 percent at season's end, and may have kept his team out of the playoffs.
Brooks is scheduled to have arthroscopic surgery on Jan. 17 to re-attach the infraspinatus tendon in his right shoulder. He played with pain after suffering the injury, but a second opinion recommended surgery.
"He obviously had some discomfort immediately following the injury, but Aaron demonstrated good range of motion and good overall shoulder strength over the balance of the regular season," said General Manager Mickey Loomis.
After hurting the shoulder, Brooks rehabilitated it to improve strength, decrease muscle soreness, and increase his motion. The plan was to re-evaluate the shoulder at the end of the season.
Loomis expects Brooks to be ready for the team's first mini-camp next spring.
The Saints may have gone too far with their injured quarterback, who was booed throughout a season-ending 10-6 loss to Carolina that kept New Orleans from clinching an NFC wild-card berth.
Brooks, 26, started every game for the second straight season. He passed for 3,572 yards and 27 touchdowns with 15 interceptions. He threw for 155 yards or fewer in three of the Saints' final five games.
The Saints lost their last three contests and six of their final nine following a 6-1 start.
Brooks broke out as a first-time starter in 2001, throwing for 3,832 yards and a team record-tying 26 touchdown passes with 22 interceptions. He also set team quarterback marks with 358 rushing yards and 4,190 total yards.
Brooks, a product of Virginia, came over from the Green Bay Packers before the 2000 season and won the starting job from Jeff Blake the following year.
