I was completely blindsided by the New England Patriots’ acquisition of WR Phillip Dorsett from the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for QB Jacoby Brissett. Most reporters were, too, because apparently the Patriots and Colts didn’t discuss the trade until Friday night, in the wake of Brissett’s fantastic preseason game against the New York GIants.
“It was a text message from New England at 7 p.m. Friday that started the trade that, when it was complete at midday Saturday, knocked people off their beach chairs on this Labor Day weekend,” Sports Illustrated’s Peter King reports in his MMQB column. “On Friday evening, a Patriots operative texted the Colts and asked, and I am paraphrasing: Any interest in Jacoby Brissett for Phillip Dorsett?”
The fact that the Patriots engaged in the trade points to a few key takeaways. One, the Patriots were targeting Dorsett in particular as a player they wanted on their roster; 2) they felt comfortable moving on from Brissett as a third-string quarterback and potential backstop despite Tom Brady’s age and the threat of Jimmy Garoppolo leaving in the offseason; and 3) they wanted to take advantage of Brissett’s stellar preseason outing.
King notes that the Colts had previously discussed Dorsett in trades with the Patriots and “several other” teams, but the trade value was an expected mid-round pick in equivalent value. Brissett offered enough potential for the Colts to bite on the trade offer.
“By noon Saturday,” King concluded, “the Colts had decided to do the deal.”
And so the Patriots sent their 2016 third round pick and third string QB Jacoby Brissett to the Colts for their 2015 first round pick and #2 wide receiver WR Phillip Dorsett. The Colts hope that Brissett can provide solid back-up depth for franchise QB Andrew Luck and win in the spot-starts that he will be called upon in the coming years.
The Patriots hope they can tap into the talent that the Colts organization failed to do during their two seasons together.
Both the Patriots and the Colts will get three years with their new players; Brissett has three years left on his rookie deal, while Dorsett has two more years plus the fifth-year option all first round picks have.
Dorsett joins a crowded wide receiver corps with Brandin Cooks, Chris Hogan, Danny Amendola, and Malcolm Mitchell, and adds yet another vertical threat to the group. And in just two years, the Patriots have revamped their receivers into one of the most talented young groups in the league. Even if Julian Edelman never returns to his former glory, the Patriots will be fine with Cooks, Hogan, Dorsett, and Mitchell moving forward.
And when you factor in Rob Gronkowski and Dwayne Allen under contract through 2019, along with the multi-year deals for James White, Mike Gillislee, and James Develin, it seems like the Patriots are planning to have offensive consistency for years to come.