The Colts will have an interesting dilemma on their hands in the next several weeks. Jacoby Brissett is coming into his own of late, and has proven that he can be an everyday NFL starter.
Beyond a few critical missteps Monday night against the Titans, Brissett has put up many impressive performances thus far. As a result, he is likely attracting the attention of teams with under-performing quarterbacks.
It is obvious that short of averaging 5 touchdowns a game, there is nothing Brissett could do to completely unseat Luck as the starter once he’s healthy. Wouldn’t it make sense to capitalize on his increased value?
A trade makes sense in principle, but the nature of the NFL season makes it a tricky proposition. While Luck has already been ruled out for Week 7’s game against the Jaguars, it is assumed that he will return at some point this season.
However, by the time that happens many division races may have already taken shape. If teams near the bottom of the league quietly call it a season, they will see no need to replace their quarterback. Similarly, teams in the playoff hunt likely already have an established starting signal caller.
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The unique case where such a trade is logical would be to a team where the supporting cast has been picking up the slack for a mediocre quarterback. One example of such a team is the Jacksonville Jaguars.
If the Colts do not get any interest from teams outside of the AFC South, Brissett would more than likely stay put. The Jaguars could certainly make a compelling case for this trade, but they would probably have to overpay to get it done with a team inside their own division.
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Of course, it also matters whether the Colts are still in contention when Luck returns. If they have nothing to gain from shoring up a weakness on offense or defense, then the trade does not make much sense.
All of this begs the question of whether Brissett should even be traded at all.
Even if Luck comes back, can you fully bank on him remaining healthy? He could always miss more time towards season’s end, or even develop a different injury that causes him to miss time at the start of next year.
If that happens, Scott Tolzien would have to be your backup again even though there is now on-field evidence that he is not a viable option. If you keep Brissett, you have a rather comfortable insurance policy going forward.
It’s a tough decision that will have to be made by first-year general manager Chris Ballard.