Indianapolis Colts Star Responds To Philip Rivers Signing
An Indianapolis Colts star responded to Philip Rivers potentially signing with his team this offseason. He was not thrilled by the idea.
Veteran linebacker Darius Leonard recently appeared on Ian Rapoport’s podcast “Rapsheet + Friends” and offered his take on the Colts’ quarterback situation.
In his estimation, people are really underestimating what Jacoby Brissett brings to the table when he is able to play with a full deck.
After being asked by Rapoport about whether he wanted to see Rivers sign with Indianapolis this offseason, Leonard was firm in his response.
“No. Why would I (think about) something like that? I believe in Jacoby,” he said.
“Jacoby’s a pretty good quarterback and he showed that early in the season when he had everyone healthy.
“You can look at any quarterback — when your receivers go down, your numbers go down. When he had everybody he went 5-2.”
Last season, Brissett put together a 98.5 passer rating in the first seven games of the year. During that stretch, Indianapolis amassed a 5-2 record.
Unfortunately, at that point the injuries hit.
Brissett ended up hurting his knee, but he played through the injury. Nevertheless, his numbers subsequently took a hit.
In the final seven games of the season he went 2-5 and put together a 74.4 passer rating.
Right around that time, Brissett also saw his star wide receiver TY Hilton and running back Marlon Mack miss multiple outings with injuries.
“You can look at any other quarterback, like Tom Brady for instance,” Leonard continued.
“This year, he didn’t have the big-time receivers, so his numbers went down. A lot of people don’t give (Brissett) enough credit for the type of quarterback he is.”
Is Rivers really better at this stage than Brissett is? It is tough to say. A lot of it depends on whether you believe the 38-year-old’s 2019 campaign was an aberration or sign of things to come.
Last season, Rivers recorded 23 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. Those are some of the worst numbers of his career.
Besides the Colts, Rivers will also reportedly be an offseason target for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It will be interesting to see what ends up happening with Indy’s quarterback situation as the 2020 season approaches.
Related: Tom Brady To San Francisco 49ers Becoming Increasingly Likely
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
