The New England Patriots have been incredibly active making trades this summer, and they’ve pulled off another big one. According to Field Yates of ESPN, New England landed Indianapolis Colts receiver Phillip Dorsett in exchange for third-string quarterback Jacoby Brissett.
The Patriots are trading QB Jacoby Brissett to the Colts for WR Phillip Dorsett, league source tells ESPN.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 2, 2017
This is a one-sided deal.
The Patriots needed another receiver following the loss of Julian Edelman to an ACL injury. They weren’t going to keep Brissett anyway, if you believe recent reports. So they added another deep threat for a relative box of peanuts.
While Dorsett was a guy on the outs in Indianapolis, he’s been a very effective deep threat when he’s gotten chances to make plays. Since being drafted in the first round two years ago, he’s caught 51 passes for 753 yards (14.8 yards per catch) with three touchdowns.
The Colts might have made this deal because Andrew Luck is nowhere near ready to start. He’s not going to start the season on the PUP list, but owner Jim Irsay recently conceded he’s a long shot to play in Week 1. On top of that, head coach Chuck Pagano has said he has not yet seen Luck throw a football since offseason shoulder surgery on his throwing arm.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Scott Tolzien has been awful this preseason, and Indy’s offense is looking like it will sputter coming out of the gate in 2017.