FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots’ thin quarterback depth chart just became even thinner.
The Patriots received a serious scare Sunday at Gillette Stadium when Jimmy Garoppolo went down late in the second quarter against the Miami Dolphins with a right shoulder injury. Garoppolo immediately headed to the locker room and was ruled out for the remainder of the game.
With Tom Brady serving his four-game suspension for Deflategate, the team was forced to turn to third-string rookie quarterback Jacoby Brissett. That prompted another question: What would New England do if Brissett went down?
Michael Lombardi, who was an assistant to the Patriots’ coaching staff before reportedly leaving the team in June and is very close with head coach Bill Belichick, provided the answer.
Julian Edelman would be the logical choice to back up Brissett, as the 30-year-old wide receiver played quarterback in college at Kent State, and the Patriots don’t have any other QBs on their active roster. Edelman also has some experience throwing the ball in New England, with pretty successful results.
Still, it’s obviously not ideal when your third-string quarterback is being backed up by a guy who doesn’t even play the position. If Garoppolo ends up missing any time, expect the Patriots to go after another QB to provide depth until Brady comes back in Week 5.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
