Jacoby Brissett

Jacoby JaJuan Brissett (born December 11, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL).

Brissett was born on December 11, 1992, in West Palm Beach, Florida.

He later attended William T. Dwyer High School in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Rivals.com ranked him as a four-star recruit and the third best dual-threat quarterback of his class.

He committed to play college football at the University of Florida in February 2011.

As a true freshman at Florida in 2011, Brissett was a backup to starter John Brantley.

In October, he started his first two career games, after Brantley was injured.

His first career start came against number-one ranked LSU.

He threw for 94 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the 41–11 loss.

Overall, he appeared in eight games, completing 18-of-39 passes for 206 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions.

Entering his sophomore season, Brissett competed with Jeff Driskel for the Gators starting job.

On September 1, he started the opening game against Bowling Green.

However, Driskel was the starter for the rest of the season.

Brissett started his second game of the season on November 17 against Jacksonville State after Driskel was unable to play due to injury.

Overall, he appeared in five games, completing 23-of-35 for 249 yards and a touchdown.

Brissett transferred to NC State in January 2013.

After sitting out the 2013 season due to transfer rules, Brissett took over as the Wolfpack's starting quarterback for 2014.

That year, he passed for 2,606 yards with 23 touchdowns and five interceptions.

As a senior in 2015, he passed for 2,662 yards and 20 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Following a stint at Florida, he played college football at NC State and was selected in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots.

Brissett was selected by the New England Patriots in the third round with the 91st overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

He was the fifth quarterback to be selected that year.

He was the only player selected in the 2016 draft who declined to hire an agent.

On June 16, 2016, Brissett signed a four-year rookie contract with the Patriots, a contract he negotiated on his own.

Brissett played in his first regular season game on September 18, 2016, after starter Jimmy Garoppolo left the Patriots' Week 2 game against the Miami Dolphins after suffering a shoulder injury.

The Patriots were leading 21–0 at the time, and Brissett finished the game completing 6-of-9 passes for 92 passing yards as the Patriots won 31–24.

The next week, Brissett made his first career start against the Houston Texans, completing 11-of-19 passes for 103 yards and carrying the ball eight times for 48 yards including a 27-yard touchdown run in a 27–0 victory.

He became the first African-American quarterback to start for the Patriots.

Brissett injured his thumb in the game against the Texans, but started the following week in a 16–0 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Because the Patriots needed a roster spot for Tom Brady after Brady's Deflategate suspension had ended, Brissett was placed on injured reserve on October 7, 2016, after having thumb surgery.

The Patriots activated Brissett from the injured reserve list; he began practicing on November 30, 2016, and was activated to the 53-man roster on December 21, 2016.

He was inactive for all of the Patriots' remaining games, including Super Bowl LI, which the Patriots won 34–28 over the Atlanta Falcons.

Brissett was traded to the Indianapolis Colts after his rookie season, where he was their primary starter in 2017 and 2019.

He spent his next two seasons alternating as the starter and backup with the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns before joining the Commanders in 2023.

On September 2, 2017, Brissett was traded to the Indianapolis Colts for wide receiver Phillip Dorsett; the Colts had needed another quarterback after Andrew Luck suffered an injury.

On September 10, 2017, Brissett made his debut with the Colts, relieving starting quarterback Scott Tolzien in the fourth quarter, and completed 2-of-3 passes for 51 yards as the Colts lost to the Los Angeles Rams 46–9.

The following week, he earned his first start with the Colts and threw for 216 yards against the Arizona Cardinals.

After a 13–13 tie in regulation, Brissett threw an interception to Tyrann Mathieu in the first play of overtime, leading to an Arizona Cardinals 16–13 victory.

On September 24, 2017, Brissett had two rushing touchdowns and completed 17-for-24 for 259 yards and a touchdown during a 31–28 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

This marked his first victory and passing touchdown as a member of the Colts.