Something new: QB drama
Brissett, Jimmy G deal with injuries
Palms up and thumbs down: This is the story of the Patriots’ quarterback carousel in 2016.
The only team in the league with three victories might be pressed into starting a third quarterback in as many games when they welcome the Bills to Gillette Stadium on Oct. 2, which is a day before Tom Brady will be welcomed back to the facility upon the conclusion of his suspension.
Rookie quarterback Jacoby Brissett suffered a thumb injury on his right hand Thursday in the Pats’ 27-0 victory against the Texans, and his status is uncertain for Week 4. Reports suggest Brissett suffered a sprain and not a complete tear, which means he could avoid surgery and potentially play if necessary.
“No idea what you are talking about,” wide receiver Danny Amendola said yesterday when asked about Brissett’s injury. “Everybody’s got a job to do, that’s all I can say.”
The qualifier really begins with Jimmy Garoppolo, though. Garoppolo suffered a grade-2 AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder Sunday against the Dolphins. Though there was no chance Garoppolo was going to play Thursday against the Texans, it’s certainly reasonable for him to return against the Bills as long as he can tolerate the pain.
The timeline of the injury suggests Garoppolo could begin throwing within 8-10 days and then regain his preferred arm strength five days after that. There is no risk of making the injury any worse, but a bad hit could reset the timetable if he returned before he was ready.
Brissett might have injured his thumb on the fifth play of the third quarter. Vince Wilfork landed on him after a 4-yard scramble, and it seems possible Brissett’s thumb was caught under the football underneath him. On the next play, Brissett handed off to LeGarrette Blount and almost in the same motion looked down at his right hand as he peeled away, and trainer Jim Whalen checked Brissett’s hand on the sideline after the drive.
Brissett was 6-of-9 for 82 yards before Wilfork landed on him, and he was 5-of-10 for 19 yards after the play. The velocity didn’t appear to be an issue, though. He delivered a laser to Amendola for a 7-yard gain on a third-and-4 out route, and Brissett also fired off a rocket that squirted through Julian Edelman’s hands in the end zone, with both tosses occurring on the possession in question.
Brissett didn’t miss a play and also didn’t draw attention to the thumb after the game in the locker room when Bill Belichick praised his performance or when Brissett met with the media for a few minutes. But it’s unclear if there were any issues with swelling yesterday.
The Patriots return to practice Tuesday through Friday. They’ll undoubtedly monitor the progress of Garoppolo and Brissett nearly hourly prior to that point, but they might be able to get away with not having to add a third quarterback such as T.J. Yates for the week. After all, if they believe one will be ready to face the Bills, they could roll with Edelman as the emergency quarterback once again.
The Pats haven’t struggled in the win column without Brady, and they might even reap long-term rewards by showcasing the talent and potential of both Garoppolo and Brissett in the absence of the four-time Super Bowl champion. But the chaos at the position has ramped up on a weekly basis without the 39-year-old who only missed games in 2008, when he tore his ACL.
With a long week on the backside of Thursday’s game, the Patriots have time to sort out two key injuries. At this point, they’re used to it.
“There’s adversity everywhere you look, whether it’s within a game, a week, a season or whatever it is,” Amendola said. “There are bumps in the road, whether it’s injuries, missing guys or whatever it is. You’ve got to deal with it. You’ve got to play with the guys who are ready to play.”