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The poor Patriots. They just can't catch a break. During their 27-0 victory over the Texans on Thursday night, New England was dealt another injury to a quarterback, this time in the form of a sprained right thumb for Jacoby Brissett.

Brissett stepped in during Week 3 for the injured Jimmy Garoppolo, who stepped in during Week 1 for the suspended Tom Brady. 3-0 is a very comfortable place to be, but not having a quarterback is a legitimate problem.

Let's look at nine potential solutions now.

1. Jimmy Garoppolo and 2. Jacoby Brissett

It's very possible that one of the quarterbacks for the Patriots will be able to play in Week 4. It's 10 days away from the home matchup against the Bills, which gives both Jimmy G and Brissett time to heal. CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora reporting the injury may not require surgery.

This is obviously the best-case scenario for the Pats, because if they can get one more game out of either of their current quarterbacks, they won't be required to use an extra roster spot on an additional quarterback, and they're going to get Tom Brady back in Week 5.

3. Julian Edelman

It's been widely reported that the Pats would have used Edelman, who played quarterback at Kent State in college, as the emergency quarterback in Week 3 against the Texans.

Garoppolo was inactive with a right shoulder injury on Thursday. If Brissett had gone down, the Pats probably would have handed the ball to Edelman, who probably would have handed the ball to LeGarrette Blount. It was a strategy that worked out fine for the rookie.

The Patriots won on Thursday with running and defense. It would be a similar attack with Edelman at quarterback. To be clear: we are not joking about this option.

4. T.J. Yates and 5. Sean Renfree

Yates, the former Texans quarterback and arguably the greatest pro quarterback in UNC history, has a little experience with the Pats, reportedly working out for New England last week with the team trying to figure out exactly what their plan of attack would be heading into the Texans game.

Yates has previously started a playoff game for Houston and started two games for the Texans last year. It's also entirely possible his visit was an attempt to procure information about the Texans' offensive attack.

Renfree, a former Duke standout, is a cerebral option here, a potential quarterback who could step in and pick up a simplified Josh McDaniels gameplan, make a couple of throws and not create any huge mistakes against the Bills. But the downside is he only has a few throws in his NFL history, attempting seven of them for his career (all last year for the Falcons) and completing just three of them. He has zero touchdowns and one interception. It is not an inspiring option. Yes this list is already thin.

6. Matt Flynn and 7. Ryan Lindley

We're lumping these guys together because they both previously were rostered for the Patriots. Flynn was on New England's roster in August of 2015 but was cut ... for Lindley. So there's a history of each having some experience interacting with and working with Belichick and McDaniels.

Neither is very inspiring but at this point the primary qualifications are:

  1. Have an arm capable of throwing a football
  2. Not a zombie

8. Rob Gronkowski

Gronk do wildcat! Gronk smash!

Can you imagine his reaction if he scored on a direct snap rushing touchdown? The world would collapse on itself with the resulting spike. We are kind of joking about this option.

9. Tim Grady

What? It's a better option than Tim Tebow.