The Indianapolis Colts are bringing in veteran quarterback Philip Rivers to Frank Reich’s offense, and that means they must now make a decision on what to do with former starter Jacoby Brissett.
With the Colts taking on a $25 million salary cap hit with Rivers’ one-year deal, Indy is also on the hook for Brissett’s cap hit of $21.3 million. However, they can trade him away and save themselves some money.
While there is no guarantee the Colts will make a move with Brissett—they really like him—it isn’t financially feasible to commit over $45 million to two quarterbacks, especially when one of them won’t be playing. This means the Colts must make a decision on finding a trade partner and Brissett a new home.
Should the Colts trade Brissett before June 1, they would save $15.875 million in salary cap space. That includes his $7 million roster bonus, which is already guaranteed, per Over The Cap.
Just off the cuff, there are a few trade destinations for Brissett. This doesn’t mean these teams are interested in Brissett, but that they are teams that are in the market for a quarterback. The Colts aren’t going to just outright cut him. They respect him too much for that, and it’s better cap-wise to trade him.
The first team that comes to mind is the New England Patriots. Tom Brady is out the door and potentially going to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and they were the team that initially drafted Brissett in 2016 before trading him to the Colts in 2017.
Whether the Patriots would want a reunion with Brissett isn’t clear, but it would be wise to see what the Colts could get.
Other teams could include the Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers or possibly even the Los Angeles Chargers. The future is murky with all of these teams at the quarterback.
The Colts are having an aggressive offseason so far and while it is a nice change of pace, they now must find a way to unload the 2020 contract of Brissett.