Gaging Jacoby Brissett’s Trade Value
After Sunday’s embarrassment at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars, most Colts fans have resigned that this season is most likely over, and are looking forward to a top-five pick in April. One big discussion by national and local media alike is the future of quarterback Jacoby Brissett. Brissett came to Indy from New England this August in a trade involving Phillip Dorsett, and the early returns are in the Colts favor. However, the former NC State Wolfpack quarterback doesn’t have a future as a starter in Naptown, as Colts have some guy named Andrew Luck still on the roster. Despite what some people may say, Luck is the best option moving forward with this team, his shoulder will be fine, as we just saw videos of him flicking 50 yard passes with ease. He may not play in 2017, but moving on from him will not recoup the talent they would lose with Luck in another jersey. Where does that leave Brissett? The second-year quarterback has performed valiantly for the team so far, and although having a backup as good as Jacoby, it could be more prudent to ship the talented signal caller for draft capital.
What is his trade value if he does hit the trade block? That will most likely hinge on two things: the team’s relative success moving forward and the desperation of the quarterback needy teams in the league when the offseason arrives. First, the Colts are going to bad moving forward, and if Brissett continues to get beat up and battered for the foreseeable future, his trade value will decrease significantly, but if he can just be a solid contributor on a terrible team, he will garner a fair amount of interest in the offseason. Second, and the most critical factor, is the other teams. We’ve seen teams jump at other mediocre quarterbacks like Brock Osweiler, Sam Bradford, Matt Cassell, and Mike Glennon. However, most of those teams were desperate for a signal caller, so let’s look at teams who will most likely won’t be picking in the top 10 and could use Brissett.
Washington Redskins: if the team decides to move on from Kirk Cousins, this is an above .500 team with no quarterback. Dan Snyder is also an impatient and impulsive owner who may pull the trigger for the Colts’ backup.
New Orleans Saints: This is a long shot, but if Drew Brees leave for greener pastures, this is another team hovering around .500 without a quarterback.
Pittsburgh Steelers: This is unlikely but if Big Ben goes through with his retirement plans he’s been considering, this will be an 11 to 13 win team without a starting quarterback. They did draft Volunteer quarterback Josh Dobbs, but he does not seem to be ready to start right now. Brissett would give the Steel City an NFL ready quarterback who would continue this team quest for another Lombardi.
Minnesota Vikings: Although trading for another quarterback would be unwise, if Bridgewater and Bradford cant return from their injuries with success, acquiring an NFL ready quarterback that can help this stacked roster win now.
There are a few other teams that could surprise, but this is just a few I could see happening. Also, there could be a team in the top 10 that trades for Brissett instead of taking one of the quarterbacks in this draft. If the right franchise calls up, the Colts could anywhere from multiple day-two picks to a first-round pick, all being a significant coup for what essentially would be a Dorsett trade for the Colts.
As it stands right now, what is Brissett’s trade value? Not high, the team is in shambles, and this is starting to put Jacoby’s weaknesses on display. Look what PFF had to say after Sunday’s loss:
“QB Jacoby Brissett continues to contribute to the amount of pressure he is under with an average time holding the ball of 2.95 seconds, which is currently the season’s fifth longest of NFL QBs. When Brissett held the ball for over 2.5 seconds against the Jaguars, he was sacked six times and went 4-13 with 47.9 passer ratings.”
Not to say Brissett isn’t a talented quarterback, but when the team struggles, Brissett’s negatives traits will start to outshine his positives traits, driving his trade stock down.
Hopefully, the team will pull itself together to at least be respectable in the second half of the season, but with injuries and dysfunction taking its toll on this team, there isn’t much reason to be optimistic. The Colts should hope that in all of the issues this team will have this year, Brissett’s talent and value can still shine bright enough to gain a hefty price come this April.
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