With Andrew Luck's status still in doubt for Week 1, the Colts made a huge move on Saturday to add a quarterback who might very well be the team's starter for their regular-season opener against against the Rams.
According to ESPN.com, the Colts have acquired Jacoby Brissett from the Patriots in a trade that will send wide receiver Phillip Dorsett to New England.
Colts owner Jim Irsay basically admitted this week that Luck likely wouldn't be on the field for his team's opener in Los Angeles.
"I would say, again, the odds are most likely he probably won't open up against the Rams," Irsay said Thursday. "But let me be clear about it -- in our minds, it's something that we haven't ruled out. We're going to see where he's at. It would be awesome [if he can play]."
The Colts' plan was to go with Scott Tolzien under center, but after watching him go through an ugly preseason, the team clearly felt that their best chance was to just bring in a new quarterback.
During three preseason appearances, Tolzien didn't throw a single touchdown pass. On the other hand, Brissett lit it up during the preseason. The second-year quarterback threw for 341 yards and four touchdowns during the Patriots' preseason finale against the Giants on Thursday.
The good news for the Colts is that Brissett also has some regular season experience under his belt. During his rookie year in 2016, Brissett started two games after Jimmy Garoppolo got hurt during Tom Brady's suspension.
During those two games, Brissett threw for a total of 400 yards, even though he played in one of those games with a torn ligament in his thumb. With Luck out indefinitely -- the Colts have made it clear that they have no idea when he'll be back -- Brissett could end up starting a couple of games for Indy this year.
Of course, if Brissett does earn the job over Tolzien, that will make the Colts look silly for not bringing in a quarterback earlier in the preseason. If Brissett beats out Tolzien for the job, he'll only have eight days to learn the Colts offense in preparation for the team's opener.
On Luck's end, Irsay's comments only seemed to confirm that the quarterback won't be ready anytime soon. Luck hasn't practiced with the Colts since undergoing shoulder surgery in January and the Colts have refused to put a timetable on when he might return.
In what might the craziest part of the entire Luck situation, Colts coach Chuck Pagano admitted this week that he hasn't even seen Luck throw a pass since training camp started.
As for Dorsett, he was reportedly on the trading block for nearly all of August, but the Colts couldn't find a willing partner. After Julian Edelman (knee) was lost for the season, the Patriots clearly felt they needed to get another receiver on their roster before their opener against the Chiefs on Sept. 7. He could also factor into the return game after Cyrus Jones was lost for the year in the team's preseason finale.
In Dorsett, the Patriots will be getting a former first-round pick who caught 33 passes for 528 yards in 2016. The addition of Dorsett means the Patriots have now added two former first-round receivers this offseason. Brandin Cooks was taken in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft (20th overall) while Dorsett was taken in the first round of the 2015 draft (29th overall).
