INDIANAPOLIS -- Jacoby Brissett might never start another game at quarterback for the Colts. But in his mind, he believes he'll be a starter again in the NFL at some point down the road after he failed to hold on to the job in Indianapolis in 2019.
Brissett said he was surprised when coach Frank Reich gave him the news last winter that they were replacing him with veteran Philip Rivers as the starter. Reich acknowledged that Brissett, like any other player would be, was upset by the demotion.
"I still believe in myself," Brissett said Friday in his first public comments since Rivers' arrival. "I know I'm a starter in this league. I know I can play at a high level. I did it last year."
Brissett became the starter when Andrew Luck announced his retirement two weeks before the regular season last year. The Colts gave Brissett a two-year contract, allowing him the opportunity to prove he could be the next franchise quarterback.
Brissett, however, didn't consistently play at a level needed to lead a team to the playoffs last year. He started strong in leading the Colts to a 5-2 record, including victories over playoff teams Houston, Tennessee and Kansas City. But Brissett, who suffered a knee injury at Pittsburgh in early November, faltered down the stretch as the Colts lost seven of their final nine games to miss the playoffs.
He finished 29th in the NFL with 196.1 yards per game and was hesitant to take shots down the field.
General manager Chris Ballard gave an indication a change was going to occur when he said the jury was still out on Brissett at the end of last season. Rivers is a 38-year-old veteran who has passed for 59,271 yards and 397 touchdowns in his 16-year career. Brissett said he still plans to compete even though Rivers is now the starter.
"I really can't say enough positive [things] about how he has been with this change, I guess -- I don't know another word for it, with me being here and also how he has just been," Rivers said. "He's an impressive guy to be around. The way he works at it and then how helpful he's been with little things, 'Here's how we signal this. Here's how I usually set that. Here is how I set that.' Then the few things that I'm like, 'Gosh, can we do this? Can we do that?' He's like, 'Yeah, I'll learn it. Whatever you are most comfortable with.' So he has been super helpful, gracious."
Brissett still has significant value to the Colts. Reich has said they plan to have special packages for Brissett to get him onto the field this season. And Brissett has to be ready to step in and start at any moment, especially with the uncertainty when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic.
Brissett, like Rivers, will be a free agent at the end of this season. "I know I'll be a starter in this league one day again," Brissett said. "Wherever that may be."