If Brees of all people is concerned and he couldn't even grip the football, then I think hes out for a while.

I'm guessing atleast 4-6 weeks.

If the tear is complete or if the patient has significant instability due to the tear of the ulnar collateral ligament, then surgery may be considered. Surgery is usually most effective when performed within the first few weeks following injury. If possible, the surgeon will repair the torn ends of the ligament back together. If the ligament is torn from the bone, then the torn end will be sutured down to the bone itself.

If the injury to the ulnar collateral ligament is older, then it is likely that a direct repair will not be possible. In this case, either another structure will be transferred to reconstruct the ulnar collateral ligament or one of the muscles at the base of the thumb will be advanced to compensate for the torn ligament.

Following surgery, patients will be placed in a cast for four to six weeks to protect the repaired ligament. At that point, gentle motion of the finger will begin. Most patients are able to play sports 3 to 4 months after surgery. Risks of surgery include infection, healing problems, and nerve injury. In addition, even with the surgical procedure, the damage to ligament will need time for healing.

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Acute ruptures of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) of the thumb are common injuries in sports. Surgical repair of complete tears has yielded excellent results in elite athletes.

METHODS: National Football League (NFL) players who underwent thumb UCL surgery and matched controls were identified. Demographic and performance data were collected. Performance scores were calculated using a standardized scoring system. Return to sport (RTS) in the NFL was defined as playing in at least 1 NFL game after thumb UCL surgery. Comparisons between case and control groups and preoperative and postoperative time points were made using paired-samples Student t tests.

RESULTS: Twenty-three players were identified (mean age: 28.8 ± 3.4 years and mean experience in the NFL: 5.9 ± 3.4 years). Twenty-two players (95.7%) were able to return to sport in the NFL at an average of 132.2 ± 126.1 days. The overall 1-year NFL career survival rate of players undergoing thumb UCL surgery was 87.0%. There was not a statistically significant decrease in games per season and career length for any position following surgery. No positions had a significant difference in postoperative performance when compared with preoperative performance, and there was no significant performance difference postoperatively when compared with matched controls.

CONCLUSIONS: There is a high rate of RTS in the NFL following thumb UCL surgery. Players who underwent thumb UCL surgery played in a similar number of games per season and had similar career lengths in the NFL as controls. No position group had any significant postoperative performance score differences when compared with postindex matched controls.