INDIANAPOLIS — Not every organization across the National Football League landscape is as fortunate at quarterback as the Indianapolis Colts, who have two starting-caliber players at the position in Andrew Luck and Jacoby Brissett.
That being said, to this point of the offseason, Colts general manager Chris Ballard's phone hasn't exactly been ringing off the hook with calls from teams making offers for his backup quarterback.
Not yet, at least.
"Not gotten any calls on Jacoby," Ballard told local reporters on Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indy.
But Ballard added: "It's still early."
Echoing his sentiments from his end-of-the-season press conference in January, Ballard said Wednesday that any offers for Brissett's services — if and when they do come — would need to be significant to even earn a hint of consideration, however.
"We like Jacoby Brissett. I think I made that pretty clear," Ballard said. "I mean, it would take a lot to pry him out. Whether people agree or disagree — whatever. I know his value to us. And I think Frank (Reich) and our coaching staff would echo the same sentiments."
With Luck's status unknown at the time after he underwent shoulder surgery earlier in the year, the Colts acquired Brissett in a trade with the New England Patriots just before the start of the 2017 regular season.
Just days later, by the second half of the team's season opener against the Los Angeles Rams, Brissett had already supplanted then-backup Scott Tolzien as Indy's interim starter. With Luck eventually unable to work his way back to the field that year, Brissett would go on to start 15 games under center, learning the team's offense in chunks as he went.
And while Luck was able to get himself ready to go for the 2018 season — turning in a performance that would earn him NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors — Brissett remained a trusted safety valve as his backup, and he also emerged as a key team leader for a Colts team that clinched a playoff berth for the first time in four seasons.
"He is a special, special teammate," Ballard said of Brissett last month. "He is well respected. I think the relationship between him and Andrew (Luck) has become very strong over time, as you would expect in that quarterback room."
Entering the final year of his rookie contract in 2019, however, Brissett is sure to earn a nice paycheck wherever he ends up in 2020 and beyond. That being the case, and considering the value at the position, Ballard and the Colts are, at the very least, willing to listen to trade offers — whenever they come.
But with a caveat.
"It would have to be right organizationally and for him. I want to do the right thing for the player too, now. I want to do the right thing for Jacoby," Ballard said last month. "Jacoby has too much value to us, not only as our backup quarterback, who I think you can absolutely win with and I think he is a starter in the league, but also to the locker room."
