Colts Coach Frank Reich ‘Open’ to Using Jacoby Brissett in a Taysom Hill-Role
Jacoby Brissett is back in familiar territory — and that’s not a good thing for the fifth-year quarterback.
A year after performing admirably for the Colts following Andrew Luck’s sudden retirement, Brissett is now a backup quarterback. His replacement, Chargers legend Philip Rivers, joined the Colts in March.
Barring an injury to the durable Rivers, it doesn’t seem likely Brissett will play too much for the Indianapolis Colts in 2020.
Unless, as Colts coach Frank Reich suggested, they find a way to get Brissett on the field in different ways.
Jacoby Brissett is, again, a backup quarterback
Jacoby Brissett once prayed the New Egland Patriots wouldn’t draft him to back up Tom Brady.
At this point, Brissett may want to consider asking a higher power for a trade. The former third-round pick is again sitting on the bench behind a durable veteran quarterback.
Brissett completed 60.9% of his passes for 2,942 yards, 18 touchdowns, and six interceptions in 15 starts last year. He’s been an extremely competent quarterback since he entered the NFL in 2016.
Still, that didn’t stop the Colts from going after Philip Rivers. Although Rivers is a Chargers legend and will likely enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame within his first couple years on the ballot, he looked old and slower last year.
Frank Reich has high hopes for Brissett in 2020
Unless Philip Rivers gets hurt or misses time because of the coronavirus pandemic, Jacoby Brissett will probably spend most Sundays with a clipboard.
Or, he was expected to do just that. Colts coach Frank Reich, though, has a different idea or three in mind.
In a recent media session, Reich acknowledged Brissett is currently a backup. Reich and the Colts nonetheless want to take advantage of Brissett’s athleticism and give him snaps, even if it’s not as the starting quarterback.
According to The Athletic, Reich noted Brissett isn’t quite Taysom Hill, the gadget quarterback for the New Orleans Saints. That doesn’t mean Indianapolis can’t find ways to get Brissett involved, though.
“But Jacoby is a really good player and there are certain ways that we think that we could use him. If we think those ways are going to help us win football games, then we will be open to doing that.”
Indianapolis did not use Brissett in that role in 2018, when he sat on the bench behind Andrew Luck.
What is Jacoby Brissett’s realistic ceiling as a gadget player?
Jacoby Brissett is an athletic quarterback with football smarts and excellent vision.
When he’s been asked to run, Brissett has averaged four yards per carry and scored nine rushing touchdowns in four seasons. He also caught a two-yard pass last season.
Brissett isn’t Taysom Hill, though, and that’s a good thing. Hill is a capable gadget quarterback who can do a little bit of everything, but he’s more of a “jack of all trades, master of none” player.
Compare that to Brissett, who has been an effective quarterback in his two years starting. The wins weren’t there, but the Colts were rebuilding in 2017 and plagued by injuries a year ago.
Brissett can definitely be a solid option on trick plays. But the Colts need to figure out just where Brissett figures into their plans.
Jacoby Brissett is a quarterback and he’s had success as a quarterback. Brissett isn’t Taysom Hill or Tim Tebow, neither of whom were long-term fits under center.
Of course, if Brissett catches the game-winning touchdown pass in the Super Bowl on a trick play, he’ll probably take that if it means being a backup this fall.
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