5 quarterbacks Detroit Lions should target in free agency to backup Jared Goff

1. Jacoby Brissett

I’ve long been a Brissett truther. He was thrust into tough situations twice with the Indianapolis Colts. He was acquired late in the 2017 preseason, then Andrew Luck missed the whole season i. Then Luck suddenly retired in August of 2019, putting Brissett in the starting role on short notice. His splits before and after a knee injury during that 2019 season were drastic (he only missed one game).

Frankly, we had really never seen what Brissett could do with opportunity, better talent around him and fully healthy for a significant stretch.

Until last season, that is. Brissett held down the fort for the Cleveland Browns while Deshaun Watson served a suspension. His raw numbers weren’t phenomenal, as wasn’t his win-loss record as the starter (4-7), but he did set career-bests for passer rating (88.1) and completion rate (64 percent).

Pro Football Focus was high on Brissett’s work in place of Watson though, as they’ve tabbed him as an underrated free agent.

"Brissett was probably better than even the Browns expected him to be in relief of the suspended Deshaun Watson across his 12 starts, finishing the season with the sixth-highest PFF overall grade and the 13th-highest PFF passing grade among quarterbacks. Brissett might not be the quarterback to lead a team to the Super Bowl, but he is a perfect bridge signal-caller for quarterback-needy teams in 2023."

Brissett may be able to find a job as a bridge starter somewhere, as PFF suggested, and if so the Lions would fall by the wayside automatically with only a backup role to offer. But it makes sense to have him on the radar until they’re ruled out of the market for his services, if they are.