Latest On Patriots’ QB Situation
The Patriots have not made plans to bring in T.J. Yates, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Rapoport calls Yates the Pats’ “free agent quarterback of choice” and by not signing him, it’s an indication that they are confident in the health of Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett. 
Brissett looked great as he made his NFL debut and first ever start against the Texans on Thursday night. During the course of the Pats’ 27-0 victory, however, the rookie suffered a thumb sprain. Meanwhile, Garoppolo is still dealing with a sprained AC joint in his throwing arm. Tom Brady returns soon, but the Patriots still have to get through their October 2nd contest against the Bills before welcoming him back on October 9th to face the Browns.
In the first two games of the seasons, Garoppolo completed 42-of-60 passes for 498 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions in wins over the Cardinals and Dolphins. The Pats are hoping to see the youngster do more of that against Buffalo, but if he can’t, it sounds like Brissett should be ready.
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Patriots Eye QB Signing As Last Resort
Riding high after a dominant Week 3 win despite the involvement of a rookie third-string quarterback, the Patriots do not plan to deviate from how they’ve approached their most important position this season. Well, if they can help it.
The Patriots will sign a quarterback before Week 4 only as a last-resort measure, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports. They view the roster spot as valuable and don’t want to send a player to waivers or free agency, depending on service time, unless it’s absolutely necessary.
New England’s already vanquished two 2015 playoff teams without Tom Brady and has used both Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett to do so. Respective shoulder and thumb injuries leave Garoppolo and Brissett questionable to be ready for the Pats’ Week 4 Bills tilt — the team’s final game before Brady is eligible to return from his suspension.
Conflicting reports have emerged about the respective availability of Brady’s backups, with one indicating the team expects both to be able to suit up and another suggesting the team is hopeful at least one will.
Florio notes if word comes in Monday that gives a firm indication neither player will be ready to play by next weekend, the team could look to sign a quarterback. The Patriots brought in T.J. Yates and Sean Renfree last week but opted to sign neither. With it being unlikely the Pats would rule out either passer that early in the week, the team could again look to take its chances with Julian Edelman as a possible emergency quarterback.
Although, the former Kent State passer isn’t the only non-quarterback on New England’s roster with high-level signal-calling experience, as Florio points out. Second-year tight end A.J. Derby played quarterback at three schools — Iowa, Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College, and Arkansas — before being moved to tight end later during his Razorbacks stay. Edelman, though, has been in this system for eight seasons, and Derby threw just 42 passes in Division I competition. Despite his standing as a running quarterback, Edelman threw 706 in three seasons with the Golden Flashes.
Patriots Unsure Who Will Start At QB In Week 4
The Patriots aren’t sure who will be under center in Week 4 against the Bills, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports. While one recent report suggested that New England expects to have both Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett available, Schefter says the situation is tad more uncertain. The Pats are “hopeful” that at last one of Garoppolo or Brissett will be ready to play, while there’s a chance that both could be good to go.
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Garoppolo suffered a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder on Sunday in the team’s 31-24 win over Miami. After Garoppolo was taken out by Kiko Alonso‘s hit, Brissett was put in the game for the first time in his NFL career. The third-round rookie got the job done, completing 6-of-9 passes as he guided New England the rest of the way, and then led the Patriots to a 27-0 victory over the Texans on Thursday night.
Before succumbing to injury, the 24-year-old Garoppolo had been excellent, completing 42-of-60 passes for 498 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in wins over the Cardinals and Dolphins. At least one report suggested that the Patriots were pressuring Garoppolo to quickly return to the field — despite the fact that he reportedly couldn’t lift his arm — and he’s presumably get the start against Buffalo if healthy. Tom Brady, of course, will return in Week 5 to start against the Browns.
There’s a small chance that neither Garoppolo or Brissett will be healthy enough to play next week, according to Schefter. In that case, the Patriots would sign a free agent quarterback, and T.J. Yates, who recently met with the club, would be an “ideal candidate.”
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Josh McDaniels Likely To Pursue HC Jobs
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels appears ready to jump back into head coaching, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link), who says that McDaniels will look to secure a top job this offseason.
[RELATED: Latest On Patriots’ Quarterbacks]
As La Canfora notes, McDaniels’ stock could be at an all-time high at the moment, meaning he’s in a position to “cash in” while landing a new position. In his second stint as New England’s play-caller, McDaniels has helped lead the club to several playoff appearances and a Super Bowl title in 2015. This season, McDaniels has dealt with turnover at quarterback, but still managed to guide the Patriots offense en route to a 3-0 start.
McDaniels, of course, has already had one go-round as a head coach, as he led the Broncos from 2009-10. After beginning his Denver tenure with an 6-0 record, McDaniels proceeded to post a 5-17 record from there on out, losing the team amid reports of micromanagement. He was fired midway through the 2010 campaign, then spent a year with the Rams before returning to the Patriots.
Now 40, McDaniels was linked to the Titans and Dolphins vacancies last offseason, but never officially interviewed for either position.
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Latest On Jimmy Garoppolo, Jacoby Brissett
Multiple reports flooded in after news of Jacoby Brissett‘s thumb injury broke, but as the most recent reports have indicated, it doesn’t sound as though the Patriots quarterback will require surgery. In fact, the “sense” is that New England expects both Brissett and fellow signal-caller Jimmy Garoppolo to be available for its Week 4 contest against the Bills, according to Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
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Garoppolo suffered a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder on Sunday in the team’s 31-24 win over Miami. After Garoppolo was taken out by Kiko Alonso‘s hit, Brissett was put in the game for the first time in his NFL career. The third-round rookie got the job done, completing 6-of-9 passes as he guided New England the rest of the way, and then led the Patriots to a 27-0 victory over the Texans on Thursday night.
Before succumbing to injury, the 24-year-old Garoppolo had been excellent, completing 42-of-60 passes for 498 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in wins over the Cardinals and Dolphins. At least one report suggested that the Patriots were pressuring Garoppolo to quickly return to the field — despite the fact that he reportedly couldn’t lift his arm — and he’s presumably get the start against Buffalo if healthy. Tom Brady, of course, will return in Week 5 to start against the Browns.
It’s still possible that the Patriots could look to sign a quarterback before their next game, and the club did audition free agents T.J. Yates and Sean Renfree this week. However, team president Jonathan Kraft recently explained that New England doesn’t want to add another QB — and thus, cut another player from elsewhere on the roster — unless it absolutely has to.
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Jacoby Brissett Suffers Thumb Injury
2:41pm: Brissett won’t need surgery, tweets Dianna Russini of ESPN. “No tear, it’s fine,” a Patriots source told Russini via text (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adam Schefter).
2:13pm: Brissett’s injury is a sprain – and not a particularly serious one – a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). Still, he’s likely to miss a few weeks, according to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
1:29pm: Misfortune continues piling up at quarterback for the Patriots, who have now lost rookie Jacoby Brissett to an injury. Brissett suffered a torn right thumb ligament in the Patriots’ 27-0 win over the Texans on Thursday and will likely need surgery, Mike Petraglia of WEEI reports (via Twitter).
Brissett was only under center for the Patriots because Jimmy Garoppolo succumbed to a shoulder injury in Week 2. And Garoppolo was only starting because of Tom Brady‘s four-game Deflategate suspension. Nevertheless, the Patriots have survived the absence of their future Hall of Fame signal-caller with three straight wins to begin the season.
In their latest victory, Brissett didn’t do much through the air in his first career start, completing 11 of 19 passes for 103 yards, but the third-round pick from North Carolina State amassed 48 rushing yards on eight carries and torched the Texans on a 27-yard touchdown scamper. Between Thursday’s start and his Week 2 work in relief of Garoppolo, Brissett has begun his NFL career 17 of 28 for 195 yards as a passer.
The fact that New England has extra time to prepare for its Week 4 matchup against Buffalo could bode well for a potential Garoppolo return, but the team still might add a free agent signal-caller as insurance. The Patriots elected against that prior to Thursday, instead relying on wide receiver Julian Edelman – a former QB at Kent State – to back up Brissett. They did work out free agents T.J. Yates and Sean Renfree on Tuesday, though.
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Pats Notes: QBs, McDaniels, Defense, Kickoffs
With Tom Brady amid a suspension and Jimmy Garoppolo too injured to play Thursday, the Patriots made the risky decision of entering their game against Houston with third-string rookie Jacoby Brissett and wide receiver Julian Edelman as their only options at quarterback. It ended up working out, as the Pats shellacked the Texans, 27-0, and didn’t have to turn to Edelman. Brissett had an uneventful night through the air in his first NFL start, going 11 of 19 for 103 yards, but he rushed for 48 yards on eight attempts and added a 27-yard score.
Before the game, team president Jonathan Kraft explained why the Patriots didn’t sign a free agent signal-caller earlier in the week, telling 98.5 The Sports Hub (via Phil Perry of CSNNE.com), “If you were to sign another quarterback, you’d have to cut a player that’s on your 53-man roster that you like. Odds are he’s going to have to clear waivers, and odds are if he’s leaving our organization, he very well might not. And we like the 53 men on this team, the 46 that are dressed tonight, and we understand the things that might happen. It’s football, and I think everyone feels like this gives our team the best chance of winning the football game.”
The Pats worked out free agents T.J. Yates and Sean Renfree on Tuesday, but they opted against signing either. Now, with extra time to prepare for its Week 4 game against Buffalo, New England could get Garoppolo back from a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder. Brady will then come off the suspended list in Week 5.
More on the NFL’s first 3-0 team of 2016:
- Head coach Bill Belichick has gotten the lion’s share of the credit for Brady-less New England’s undefeated start, but Ryan Hannable of WEEI posits that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels might deserve just as much praise. McDaniels has had two QBs, Garoppolo and Brissett, make their first career starts this year, and he had to get the latter ready on a short week. Nevertheless, both Garoppolo and Brissett have held their own this year. “He ultimately gets everyone ready to play. It’s fun,” receiver Danny Amendola said of McDaniels, who’s seemingly on the fast track to another head coaching job, as Hannable writes. McDaniels’ first try, in which he went 11-19 in Denver from 2009-10, failed, but the 40-year-old has further established himself as one of the league’s top assistants since.
- The Patriots’ defense might be even more terrifying for the rest of the league than Brady’s forthcoming return, argues Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today. The unit embarrassed the Brock Osweiler-led Texans, holding him to 196 yards and an interception on 24 of 41 passing. Additionally, running back Lamar Miller totaled a subpar 3.8 yards per carry on 21 attempts, while elite receiver DeAndre Hopkins recorded only four catches for 56 yards. “We were shocked. We couldn’t get anything going,” said Texans tight end Ryan Griffin.
- Belichick is among the coaches who have exploited the league’s new touchback rule this year, writes Reyes. Moving the ball from the 20 to the 25 on touchbacks was done to limit kick returns, but the Patriots’ Stephen Gostkowski intentionally booted two kicks short of the end zone. The Texans fumbled on both returns, and New England recovered deep in Houston territory on each occasion. “Our kickoff guys are doing a great job. It would be dumb just to kick it out of the end zone every time right now,” stated Gostkowski. Said Belichick, “It seemed like (the Texans) had to go 90 yards every time they had the ball. Our kickoff team, once again, came up big with field position; two turnovers. That’s a very aggressive unit.”
Patriots To Activate Rob Gronkowski
The Patriots are set to activate tight end Rob Gronkowski for tonight’s game against the Texans, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Gronk has yet to take the field this season. 
Gronkowski has been dealing with a hamstring injury for much of the offseason but he’s coming back just in the nick of time for New England. Tonight, the Pats are without Tom Brady (suspended) and Jimmy Garoppolo (injured), leaving third-stringer Jacoby Brissett under center. Inexperienced quarterbacks often look to their tight ends as security blankets, and there is no better offensive tight end in the NFL than Gronkowski.
In 2015, Gronk caught 72 passes for 1,176 yards and 11 touchdowns across 15 regular season games. For yet another season, Gronkowski established himself as one of the most lethal tight ends in the game today. For his efforts, Gronk earned his third First-Team All-Pro selection and his fourth Pro Bowl nod.
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Colts Sign WR Devin Street Off Pats’ P-Squad
The Colts announced that they have signed wide receiver Devin Street to the 53-man roster off of the Patriots’ practice squad. By rule, the Colts now have to keep him on their 53-man roster for the next three weeks. The signing could be insurance against Donte Moncrief‘s ailing shoulder. Moncrief could be sidelined for multiple games, though he hasn’t been formally ruled out for Sunday.
Street joined the Pats’ taxi squad on Sept. 5 after he missed the Cowboys’ initial 53-man cut. For his career, Street has appeared in 31 regular season NFL games with nine receptions for 132 yards and one touchdown. He has also appeared in a pair of playoff games.
In college, Street started 40-of-49 games at Pittsburgh and totaled 202 receptions for 2,901 yards and 16 touchdowns. He left the Panthers as the school’s all-time leader in receptions and No. 3 all-time in career receiving yards.
The Colts’ WR depth chart currently consists of T.Y. Hilton, Moncrief, Phillip Dorsett, Quan Bray, and Chester Rogers.
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LeGarrette Blount Had Interest In Dolphins
There were at least two instances in the past two years that running back LeGarrette Blount had interest in signing with the Dolphins, but they didn’t pursue him, an associate told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Blount, the No. 1 back for the AFC East rival Patriots, rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries in the Pats’ 31-24 win over the Dolphins on Sunday.
The 29-year-old Blount, a Madison, Fla., native, didn’t encounter much of a market for his services as a free agent during the offseason. As a result, he took a one-year deal with a minimum base salary to return to the Patriots a month after free agency opened. The Dolphins lost previous starter Lamar Miller to the Texans and signed his Houston predecessor, Arian Foster, in July, but only after striking out on multiple other options – including the Broncos’ C.J. Anderson. Miami signed the then-restricted free agent to a four-year, $18MM offer sheet, which Denver matched.
The Dolphins’ 27th-ranked rushing attack hasn’t done them any favors during their 0-2 start this year. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill has driven up their yards-per-carry average with a team-leading 4.7 mark on 11 attempts, and he also paces the Dolphins in ground yardage (47). Foster hasn’t been nearly as effective, having totaled 47 yards on 16 carries in his first action since tearing his Achilles last October. The 30-year-old is now dealing with a groin injury that limited him to three carries in Week 2 and could keep him out against the Browns on Sunday. If it does, Miami has far less proven options in third-round rookie Kenyan Drake and second-year man Jay Ajayi, who has been in head coach Adam Gase‘s doghouse this year.
In theory, the bruising Blount would have been a useful weapon for a Miami team that hasn’t established a respectable ground attack yet in 2016, but the rest of the league also passed on the inexpensive seventh-year man during the offseason. Blount is once again scheduled for free agency next winter, when the Dolphins and 30 other teams could have another chance to sign the 245-pounder if New England doesn’t lock him up by then.
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