The Andrew Luck retirement obviously hurt the Indianapolis Colts’ chances to contend in 2019 and beyond, but Indy has built a strong enough roster that even halfway competent quarterback play should keep them in contention, especially in a wide-open AFC South.
The Colts hope they’ll get that out of Jacoby Brissett, who will take over for Luck, but if Brissett goes down, Indy will be in a ton of trouble, judging by its quest to find a suitable backup.
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport on Thursday reported the Colts recently worked out a trio of veteran quarterbacks: Matt Cassel, Brandon Weeden and Brock Osweiler. All three of those signal-callers are, well, not very good, and their “best” days are almost certainly behind them.
This past week, as the #Colts look at options for their backup QB job, they visited with and worked out FA QBs Matt Cassel, Brandon Weeden, and Brock Osweiler, I’m told. No decision yet on who they are signing, or if they’ll wait until roster cuts come from the other 31.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 29, 2019
Osweiler is the youngest of the bunch, and probably still the best, which is very much a relative term. The 28-year-old appeared in seven games last season for the Miami Dolphins, completing 63.5 percent of his passes with six touchdowns and four interceptions. He hasn’t posted a passer rating of 90 since 2014, with a 77.9 passer rating over 36 games in his last four seasons.
Cassel is the most experience of the three, but also is the oldest at 37. Tom Brady’s former backup played in two games last season for the Detroit Lions, completing just seven of 17 passes. He has a career 78.5 passer rating that has taken a hit in the last five years with a 66.2 passer rating. Weeden, meanwhile, has just 35 games to his record with a career 76 passer rating, and he hasn’t thrown an NFL pass since 2015.
As Rapoport also pointed out, the Colts could have more options as NFL rosters get cut down by this weekend, and someone like Patriots backup Brian Hoyer might be an attractive option if the Patriots cut bait.
