The San Francisco 49ers were able to nab former New England Patriots second-string quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for a mere second-round pick this past October. It might have been seen as below-market value, but the Patriots themselves are no dummies. They knew Garoppolo would eventually leave in free agency.
Garoppolo’s former teammate, Jacoby Brissett of the Indianapolis Colts, is now in a similar situation. Acquired from New England last summer, Brissett is slated to back up Andrew Luck in Indy. He has two more years left on his contract.
With Luck now seemingly 100 percent healthy, some might figure that the Colts would be in position to trade Brissett for something of value.
According to Colts owner Jim Irsay, that’s not going to happen. Heck, Irsay indicates that Indianapolis wouldn’t even move Brissett for a first-round pick.
“All of a sudden, we have the best backup quarterback in football,” Irsay said, via the Indianapolis Star. “I don’t think we’d accept a (first-round pick in a trade) for him, we think he’s that good.”
Brissett performed pretty well in Luck’s stead last season, accumulating nearly 3,400 total yards with 17 combined touchdowns and just seven interceptions in 15 starts, 11 of which Indianapolis lost.
It’s hard to believe that GM Chris Ballard and Co. wouldn’t accept a first rounder for Brissett. It’s harder to believe that any team would be willing to offer up that bounty for the Colts’ backup.
Either way, it appears that Irsay values the former North Carolina State star at a higher clip than most around the league.