Colts Would Be Wise To Rest Jacoby Brissett

Starting quarterback has a left MCL knee sprain, suffered in Sunday's loss at Pittsburgh, which calls into question whether he can play in the next game.

Perhaps the question that needs answered about Indianapolis Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett’s left MCL knee sprain is how much would one week of rest help?

Seriously, the Colts (5-3) are 15.5-point home favorites against the Miami Dolphins (1-7) on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium, so what’s the sense in rushing Brissett back? Backup quarterback Brian Hoyer should be able to do enough against one of the league’s worst teams.

Colts head coach Frank Reich spoke positively about Brissett’s injury on a Monday conference call.

“I talked to Jacoby this morning,” Reich said. “He was feeling pretty decent. You know Jacoby, he was pretty optimistic, but we’ll just have to see how it progresses this week but was a little bit encouraged and we’ll just see how it goes this week.”

The wait-and-see approach will play out in practice, where Brissett will have to prove he’s healthy enough to play. Based on comments after Sunday’s 26-24 loss at Pittsburgh, it sounded like Brissett wanted to return to the game but Reich decided to play it safe because he saw how his quarterback was hobbling.

“We’re just going to have to wait until Wednesday to see how he feels,” Reich said. “It’s one thing to come in (Monday) after the injury and feel a little – I think in his mind he felt a little bit better than he expected to feel (Monday), but that’s still a far cry from being able to play in the game. He’s optimistic, but you’ve got to wait until Wednesday. You’ve got 48 hours to see how it responds to see can you even start thinking about practicing and wrap your mind around playing on Sunday? We’re going to have to wait and see that and play that out as the week progresses.”

Brissett was injured when his left leg was backed into by All-Pro offensive guard Quenton Nelson in the second quarter. The leg buckled and Brissett was writhing in pain on the ground before walking off under his own power.

One would think that resting that knee for at least one week before another home game against the Jacksonville Jaguars (4-5) the following Sunday. If Brissett sits, Reich said the plan would be to promote Chad Kelly from the practice squad to back up Hoyer, who had a career-high three TD passes against the Steelers but also threw a pick-six and lost a fumble.

Sunday’s game is important — the Colts need the win to tie the Houston Texans (6-3) for first in the AFC South Division.

Reich said there's cautious optimism that center Ryan Kelly (burner) should be able to return. He was hurt early at Pittsburgh and replaced by Josh Andrews. The Colts offensive line had a rough game, allowing five sacks.

Another concern is at wide receiver, where rookie Parris Campbell suffered a hand fracture that required surgery on Monday. That’s going to sideline the second-round pick for three to four weeks, yet another discouraging setback for a promising talent who finally received more looks on Sunday and had five catches for 53 yards as well as three rushes for 27 yards.

“We are all frustrated for him,” Reich said of Campbell. “I understand his frustration. I think we saw a little taste (Sunday) of his explosiveness and just how raw he is. You can feel the energy when he has the ball and the explosiveness. I thought (Sunday) he did pretty well. It’s just unfortunate to get this fractured hand. But thankfully it’s not anything that’s catastrophic and hopefully it heals quickly.”

The Colts are already without Pro Bowl wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (calf) for about a month, and they’re 0-6 without their best weapon in the lineup since he was drafted in 2012. And wide receiver Devin Funchess hasn’t played since fracturing a collarbone in the season opener, another injury that required surgery. Funchess is close to returning from injured reserve, another status that depends upon how practice goes this week.

Second-year wide receiver Deon Cain has shown flashes of potential in his return from a rookie year lost to a knee injury in preseason. But Cain dropped two passes on Sunday and has yet to prove he can be consistent.

“It’s weird,” Reich said. “We got a couple plays early on from him where we threw the ball to him deep down field and got a couple pass interference calls.”

Why the Colts have been unable to get more out of Cain is yet another question that has lingered.

“It’s just one of those things,” Reich said. “I think Deon has worked hard, but there are a lot of factors that go into that. Obviously when T.Y. had been healthy during most of the weeks that Deon has been in there, we’re trying to get T.Y. the ball first. Then you’ve got the other things you’re trying to do. Deon was a starter kind of role player for us, but it just worked out where the ball hasn’t gone to him more.”