FOXBORO, Mass. — Rex Ryan apparently had a better handle on New England’s quarterback situation than the Patriots themselves this week.
Word came down that Jacoby Brissett, with his injured right thumb, would start in Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills roughly two hours before the 1 p.m. kickoff. The Patriots reportedly waited until pregame warmups to decide between Brissett and Jimmy Garoppolo, who has a right shoulder injury.
Belichick all but confirmed that decision came down to pregame warmups when asked at what point he decided Garoppolo wouldn’t play.
“When we made him inactive,” Belichick said after the game.
Ryan apparently knew all along, though.
“My sources inside the Patriots building told me Jacoby Brissett would be the QB,” Ryan told the media Sunday. “How’s that? I’ll stir some stuff up.”
So is the Bills coach just stirring stuff up, or did he actually have inside knowledge to the Patriots’ thinking? Chances are he’s just trying to get inside Belichick’s head. After all, Ryan is 5-11 against Belichick after Sunday’s 16-0 Bills win, so he’ll likely take all the help he can get.
If Ryan did have inside knowledge, perhaps he really has a future as a reporter, and apparently the Patriots need to clean it up inside Gillette Stadium.
Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
