When New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo left Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins with a shoulder injury, rookie Jacoby Brissett was thrown into the spotlight. With Garoppolo quickly being declared "out" with what was later identified as a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder and with the Patriots playing their next game on Thursday, the team was thrown into the quarterback market.
Well, apparently not.
According to an earlier report by Adam Schefter, the Patriots were still hopeful that Garoppolo might play on Thursday and that the team is not planning on signing another quarterback. It seems as if the team is not even planning on looking at potential emergency options as a look on the list of today’s workouts shows (via Mike Reiss):
TE Rory Anderson
DT Brandin Bryant
DT Trevon Coley
DB Jamell Fleming
DB Doran Grant
FB Glenn Gronkowski
RB Storm Johnson
TE Austin Traylor
Apart from the fact that no quarterback has been among the workouts – which further shows the team’s confidence in Garoppolo’s health and availability prospects –, the biggest takeaway is that Rob Gronkowski’s brother Glenn has been among the workouts. While the chances of him getting signed to the Patriots’ 53-man roster are slim given that New England has one of the NFL’s premier fullbacks – James Develin – on its roster, the younger Gronkowski might be a candidate for the practice squad.
Gronkowski is one of four players on the list to have appeared in an NFL game. Fleming, who has been with the Arizona Cardinals, Jacksonville Jaguars and Kansas City Chiefs over his four-year career, has the most experience of those brought in for workouts. He played in 46 career games – or 36 more than the others (Grant, Gronkowski, Johnson) combined.
The Patriots, as usual, are doing their due diligence by bringing free agents in for workouts. Just don’t expect the team to make a move in the upcoming days.