Dolphins Land Their Backup QB

The Miami Dolphins have agreed to terms with former Patriots and Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett

A day after veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick agreed to terms to leave the Miami Dolphins, the organization found his replacement.

The team agreed to terms on a one-year contract with former New England Patriots draft pick and Indianapolis Colts starter Jacoby Brissett, per a league source.

Former Colts' QB Jacoby Brissett has reached agreement on a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 16, 2021

The deal with Brissett came on the same day two other veteran quarterbacks came to agreements around the league — Tyrod Taylor with the Houston Texans, Andy Dalton with the Chicago Bears.

Of all the quarterbacks scheduled to become unrestricted free agents, though, Brissett might have been the most appealing on the market.

The Dolphins needed a new backup quarterback once it became clear that Fitzpatrick was not going to come back to Miami for a third season, and Brissett is a great fit.

Brissett got $5 million guaranteed on a contract with a maximum value of $7.5 million, according to Boston Globe NFL writer Ben Volin.

I'm told Jacoby Brissett got $5m guaranteed and a max value of $7.5m on his 1-year deal with the Dolphins. He'll probably backup Tua to start, but has a good opportunity to see the field this year

— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) March 16, 2021

He has served in that capacity before, working behind Andrew Luck in 2018 and behind Philip Rivers with the Colts last season.

Brissett also has been a starter in the league and certainly would be able to step in if needed. He started 15 games in both 2017 (after Luck sustained a season-ending shoulder injury) and in 2019 (after Luck abruptly retired in the preseason).

Brissett had 31 touchdown passes against 13 interceptions in those two seasons as a starter, though the team's record in his starts was only 11-19.

Barring a major trade, Tua Tagovailoa will be the Dolphins starting quarterback in 2021, so the goal was to find a backup good enough to start in certain circumstances.

With Fitzpatrick and Dalton headed to Washington and Chicago, that eliminated the two most logical options for any backup hoping to legitimately compete for a starting job, which then made Miami an appealing option.

Signing only a one-year deal allows Brissett the opportunity to revisit the quarterback landscape next offseason and there's certainly the possibility that this one-year contract could lead to other deal and a long stint in Miami.

One appealing factor for Brissett is the opportunity to come home.

He was born and played high school football in West Palm Beach before moving to North Carolina State University.

The Patriots took him in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft even though they already had Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo on the roster.

Brissett, ironically, made his first NFL regular season appearance against the Dolphins in Week 2 of the 2016 season when Brady was serving his NFL suspension for Deflagate and Garoppolo was injured in the second quarter with New England leading 21-0.

Brissett completed 6 of 9 passes that day and New England hung on for a 31-24 victory.

Brissett would start the next two games before being traded the next September to the Colts in a one-on-one trade for speedy wide receiver Phillip Dorsett.

In September 2019, the Colts signed Brissett to a two-year, $30 million extension.

Brissett now comes back to South Florida for the next chapter of his career and the Dolphins have taken care, at least for a year, of their backup quarterback situation.