Colts decline Jacoby Brissett trade offers with Andrew Luck on mend

As Andrew Luck continues to work his way back from shoulder surgery, the Colts seem intent on keeping Jacoby Brissett.

No NFL player is more indispensable to his team than Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. Last year’s 4-12 record, as he sat out the entire season with a lingering right shoulder issue, proves it along with the team’s regular season record with (43-27) and without him (10-16).

Luck has apparently turned a corner in his rehab, which puts him on track to participate in OTAs and be ready in plenty of time for Week 1. But the Colts seem to still have some concern about Luck, with Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star reporting they have turned down two trade offers for backup Jacoby Brissett.

After being acquired from the New England Patriots late in the preseason, Brissett started 15 games for the Colts last season. He absorbed 52 of the league-high 56 sacks Indianapolis allowed, while completing close to 59 percent of his passes for 3,098 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The 2016 third-round pick by the New England Patriots out of N.C. State also added 260 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

Colts head coach Frank Reich backed up owner Jim Irsay’s assertion of progress by saying Luck has resumed throwing. But from personal experience as a former Buffalo Bills’ backup to Jim Kelly, with an epic playoff comeback on his resume, Reich knows the value of having another viable option at the position. Reich surely had some input in turning down trade offers for Brissett.

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Luck will need to get on the practice field and throw without setbacks before the Colts, or anyone else, can have anywhere close to full faith in the condition of his shoulder. Brissett had a measure of success last season, despite all that worked against him, and he offers a suitable fallback option if Luck’s progress through the end of his rehab hits a snag.