The Indianapolis Colts have held Jacoby Brissett in high regard for awhile, refusing trade offers for him when he was Andrew Luck’s backup. Luck’s sudden retirement last August pushed Brissett into the starting lineup, and early in the season it was going well.
Over the first six games last year, Brissett had 14 touchdown passes and three interceptions with a 65 percent completion rate and a passer rating of 101.0. But a left knee injury in the seventh game was the turning point.
Brissett returned to the lineup after missing just one game, and he struggled as he clearly limited by the injury. Over those last eight games, he had just four touchdowns and three interceptions with a completion rate below 57 percent. His passer rating also fell over that span, to 76.0.
The Colts started the season 5-2, and finished 7-9.
After general manager Chris Ballard admitted the jury was out on Brissett, the Colts signed Philip Rivers to a one-year deal in free agency. So they are in a bit of a win-now window, with an eye on who will be the quarterback after Rivers.
That successor could ultimately be Brissett, but quarterback may be on Indianapolis’ radar on Day 2 of this week’s draft.
They may intend to keep him, and that may be most practical at this point. But here are three reasons the Colts should still trade Jacoby Brissett this offseason.
