Despite Philip Rivers, Jacoby Brissett and Andrew Luck (dead money) accounting for more than $53MM on the Colts’ 2020 payroll, the team plans to keep its recently demoted quarterback.
Brissett remains in the Colts’ plans for 2020, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Colts released Brian Hoyer minutes ago and now have Rivers at a $25MM price. Brissett is due a $7MM guarantee Sunday, but Fowler notes the team plans to retain the fifth-year passer to play behind Rivers.
After Luck’s retirement, the Colts gave Brissett a two-year, $30MM deal. He is set to count $21.4MM against Indianapolis’ cap next season. The Colts saw Brissett improve mightily from his 2017 performance, but after Jim Irsay said all options were on the table this offseason, the team signed Rivers. Brissett will return to the QB2 role he played in 2018. Rivers has never missed a start since taking the Chargers’ reins at the 2006 season’s outset.
The Colts rejected multiple trade offers for Brissett in 2018, and Irsay said that year he would be unlikely to trade the former Patriots draftee for a first-round pick. Chris Ballard and Frank Reich came out in support of Brissett after Luck’s healthy 2018 season, and the Colts have one of the league’s best backup quarterbacks in the fold — albeit at a higher-than-usual rate.
With the Colts still in need of a long-term answer, it is unclear how they will proceed with Brissett beyond 2020. But for now, it looks like he will be a high-priced backup and play a fourth year in Indianapolis.
Brissett is probably the best backup in the league right? Another season learning behind one of the league’s most experienced QBs hopefully helps him over the hump. I’m not a Colts fan but Brissett just seems like a good dude to root for.
Fitzmagic is better, though he may start next year.
That was my thinking, at least on his label.
I mean he is viable, might as well keep him in the fold, maybe even extend him. Draft a QB in the 4th.
He may be the best backup, but he needs to renegotiate to a lower salary or they should trade him. He will never be a starter that can lead a team to the playoffs, let alone a championship. We need to draft a QB in the 2nd round, maybe Jacob Eason, to learn under Rivers. Brissett didn’t learn watching Luck; he won’t under Rivers either. He is good at the start of the game with scripted plays, but making decisions in the 4th qtr. is not his forte, & he loses more games than he wins, period. Let Chad Kelly be the back-up
Yea… negotiate so he can make LESS money, AFTER they signed a guy to take his job. You can’t make this stuff up. The. Again, I guess some people can.
If you give him a choice, stay as a backup at a lesser salary, maybe a 2 year deal; or be traded or cut; I think he’d take the pay cut. He knows he’s had 2 chances to be a starter. All the excuses of the 2017 team & 50+ sacks turned out to be worth 3 more wins.
Its more likely they extend him to lower his cap figure this year. They probably aren’t going to cut him with a 12.5M dead cap, since they cut Hoyer that’d be 14.5M dead cap and no back-up on the roster. Would just be dumb football-wise and business wise. Rivers is just a 1-yr 24-25M deal.
If they trade him they still end up with 5.5M dead-cap. However they’d need to bring in someone. One of these teams with an older QB is going to bring in Jameis Winston and try to get him on a cheaper mult-year deal.
You say he will never be a viable starter that could lead a team to the playoffs, yet was having a Pro Bowl caliber year with something like 14 TDs and 2 INTs and a 5-2 record at the time Nelson was pushed backwards into Brissett’s knee and all those receivers got hurt. And the record should have been even better because of Vinatieri’s shanks. So there’s that.
He obviously had flaws, when he did come back, but he showed what he’s capable of. So sitting for a year or two behind Rivers could be what he needs to become a more polished QB.
You don’t even think about Rivers unless you have doubts. You don’t sign him unless Jacoby is NOT your guy. It’s simple.