You really have to feel for Jacoby Brissett.
For two of the last three seasons, Brissett was the Indianapolis Colts' starting quarterback. In 2017, Brissett stepped in for Andrew Luck, who was recovering from shoulder surgery. Then, this past year, Brissett was thrust into the starting role a couple of weeks before the season began after Luck's sudden retirement.
Now, Brissett is being relegated to a backup role yet again, as the Colts signed Philip Rivers at the onset of free agency.
When speaking on the addition of Rivers on Tuesday, Indianapolis head coach Frank Reich admitted that Brissett wasn't exactly thrilled with the signing:
“Obviously he wasn’t happy,” said Reich, according to Zak Keefer of The Athletic. “But he’s a good teammate and will handle it.”
Brissett actually got off to a strong start in 2019, leading the Colts to a 5-2 record over the first seven games and even representing a fringe MVP candidate. However, in the second half, the wheels came off, as Brissett struggled and Indianapolis lost seven of its last nine games to finish 7-9.
To be fair to Brissett, Indy's offense was ravaged by injuries during the latter part of the year. Running back Marlon Mack, wide receivers T.Y. Hilton, Devin Funchess and Parris Campbell and tight end Eric Ebron all missed significant time, and even Brissett himself missed a game due to a sprained MCL.
However, even with those qualifiers, the Colts felt the need to move on from Brissett in favor of Rivers.
Rivers spent the first 16 years of his NFL career with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers and is coming off of a rather shaky 2019 campaign in which he threw 23 touchdowns and 20 interceptions.
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