Colts ‘Excited’ For Future With Jacoby Brissett As Quarterback

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Brissett, of course, started 15 games for the Colts in 2017 as Luck worked his way back from the shoulder surgery that would ultimately keep him out the entire season. Despite being acquired in a trade with the New England Patriots the week before the first regular season game, Brissett earned major equity in the locker room by stepping in as the starting quarterback Week 2 and navigating his way through the challenges that come with learning a brand new offense on the fly.


Although Brissett went from the team's starting quarterback one year to Luck's backup the next in 2018, he still held a firm presence in the locker room as one of its leaders and a positive force.


"Our organization, to have that kind of leadership at quarterback to go from Andrew Luck to Jacoby Brissett, different kinds of leaders, but both elite leaders. I mean these guys are both elite — Jacoby has those qualities,” Reich said Saturday. “As a human being, as an athlete, this guy is as good as they come as a teammate."


After Luck revealed his decision to retire to Brissett only a couple days ago, Reich said it was important to give his new starter enough time to digest the news and then move forward.


"Jacoby and I just had a brief conversation, because this is hard for Jacoby now 'cause these guys are close," Reich said of Brissett and Luck. "My only comment to Jacoby was, 'Let's just take a couple days to digest this and then we'll talk after the game,' because Jacoby was pretty emotional about this as well. They're very close."


Brissett now takes over an offense that ranked seventh in yards per game in the NFL in 2018, and hopes to take even bigger leaps forward in Reich's second year guiding the offense.


There are plenty of positives to build on: the offensive line kept Luck cleaner than any other quarterback in the league in 2018, as he was sacked just 18 times. Running back Marlon Mack compiled 10 touchdowns and nearly ran for 1,000 yards in just 12 games, and Brissett now has an embarrassment of riches to throw to with guys like T.Y. Hilton, Eric Ebron, Jack Doyle, Devin Funchess and Parris Campbell.


Reich has referred to Brissett as a top-20 quarterback, and now he gets an ideal opportunity to showcase those abilities while also continuing to build on the team's momentum from last year's 10-6 campaign. As Ballard mentioned, the Colts have built a good team around the quarterback position rather than throwing resources around for a quarterback.


If the Colts are going to be successful, they plan for it to be as a team and with Brissett as the quarterback.


"I think you saw it last year as we went through the season, this is a special guy, man," Ballard said. "I'm excited to watch him play. I am."