Examining the QB options: Could the under-the-radar Jacoby Brissett be a fit?

Ninth in a series

PREVIOUS ENTRIES: Nick Foles | Marcus Mariota | Andy Dalton | Tyrod Taylor | Alex Smith | Ryan Fitzpatrick | Mitchell Trubisky | Sam Darnold

JACOBY BRISSETT, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

• AGE AT START OF 2021 SEASON: 28
• EXPERIENCE: 6th year

THE HIGHS: Perhaps scholars will someday recall that the quarterback duel of Week 8 in 2019 between teams led by Brissett and Joe Flacco was ultimately decided by the dynamic athleticism one passer possessed — something that the other did not. But it’s far more likely that the Colts’ win that day will remain a footnote.

Of course, you don’t need a photographic memory to know that the athletic passer wore the Indianapolis Colts’ royal blue. His escape from Von Miller led to a deep completion to T.Y. Hilton that helped set up Adam Vinatieri for his final game-winning field goal. Meanwhile, Brissett’s counterpart a white jersey ended the game with a neck injury; Flacco never played again for the Broncos.

Brissett left the field victorious. The Colts were 5-2. His passer rating of 99.7 was 10th in the NFL among eligible quarterbacks. His completion percentage was 64.8; he had 14 touchdown passes against just three interceptions. After being knocked for a loop by Andrew Luck’s preseason retirement, it seemed like the Colts had found a new answer at quarterback.

But it only seemed that way.

THE LOWS: One week after that win over the Broncos, Brissett suffered a knee injury in the Colts’ loss to Pittsburgh. He returned after missing one game, but is production plummeted.

In seven starts the rest of the season, he threw just four touchdowns and posted a completion percentage of 56.4, the second-lowest among the 35 quarterbacks with at least 100 attempts in Weeks 10-17. Indianapolis lost four of his final five starts that year, signed Philip Rivers in the offseason, and that was that.

FOUR-YEAR FORM (2017-20)

(Rankings are among 62 quarterbacks with at least 250 total plays — attempts, rushes and times sacked — over the past four years.)

• PASSER RATING: 84.2, 43rd
• YARDS PER ATTEMPT: 6.53, 46th
• COMPLETION PERCENTAGE: 59.48, 53rd
• TOUCHDOWN-PASS RATE: One every 29.94 attempts, 52nd
• SACK RATE: One every 12.46 pass plays, 48th
• INTERCEPTION RATE: One every 71.39 attempts, 6th
• FUMBLE RATE: One every 76.8 plays, 33rd
• BALL-LOSS RATE (INTERCEPTIONS + FUMBLES): One every 41.14 plays, 8th

WHAT STANDS OUT: The benefits of his low interception rate are negated by a high sack rate — although he went from being sacked once every 10.0 pass plays when he started 15 games in 2017 to a respectable once every 17.6 pass plays two years later. Of course, the Colts had a potential Hall of Famer at guard by 2019 (Quenton Nelson) that they didn’t have two years earlier.

He will take off with the ball; he runs on 12.4 percent of his total plays (pass attempts, sacks and rushes); that is the 10th-highest figure among those 62 quarterbacks in the last four years. But he’s not particularly dynamic as a runner; he averages 3.5 yards per carry, which ranks 36th.

WHY HE COULD BE A FIT: He was the good soldier in his years as a backup with the Colts, supporting starters Andrew Luck (2018) and Philip Rivers (2020) without causing problems. With his three years of work under Indianapolis head coach Frank Reich and his rookie season under Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels in New England, Brissett has undoubtedly learned lessons that he can pass to Lock.

His fumble and interception rates show that he can play within his capabilities. He won’t make mistakes that force a defense into disadvantageous situations, although he must cut his sack rate.

WHY HE WOULDN’T BE: Although he never entered a training camp as a team’s designated starting quarterback, his 32 starts of work are enough to reveal that Brissett’s likely destiny is as a fringe starter or one of the league’s better backups.

There’s nothing wrong with that, but if Brissett must assume the reins, it is unlikely he serves as more than a bridge. A season like Case Keenum’s 2017 campaign in Minnesota is his ceiling — and it would be far above anything Brissett has notched to date.

HOW THE BRONCOS MIGHT GET HIM: As a free-agent signing. He could come cheaper than other options such as Ryan Fitzpatrick and Mitchell Trubisky. But other teams — including the Eagles, coached by former Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni — make more sense for Brissett.