During the Patriots’ final media availability Thursday before Super Bowl LI, Tom Brady answered questions from an overflow crowd while New England’s other two quarterbacks drew a much smaller gathering around the table they shared in an adjacent room.
Only one of the backups can be the heir to Brady’s throne.
Based on reports that the Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns are interested in trading for Jimmy Garoppolo, Brady’s successor could be former N.C. State quarterback Jacoby Brissett.
A lot can and will happen between now and whenever Brady, 39, retires, beginning with his opportunity to win a fifth Super Bowl ring Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.
If nothing else, the three games Brissett played in September in place of the suspended Brady and the injured Garoppolo assured his place in a Patriots season that could end with confetti falling on them again Sunday night at NRG Stadium.
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“It’s definitely been a turn of events for the good. Going from not playing, not practicing with the (starters) to starting and getting ready for a game to being back from an injury,” Brissett said. “It’s definitely been a unique season, but it’s been quite the journey.”
The journey started last spring when the Patriots used a third-round pick on Brissett, who threw for more than 5,000 yards and 43 touchdowns (with only 11 interceptions) at N.C. State after transferring from Florida after the 2012 season.
Brissett wasn’t wide-eyed when he met Brady for the first time at the Patriots’ facility, mainly because the two-time MVP doesn’t do diva, according to Brissett.
“Tom isn’t like that. He doesn’t want anyone to come at him like he’s (a star),” Brissett said. “I think that’s what’s so unique about him is how personal he is with us. I don’t look at him as that guy. I look at him as just Tom.”
New England’s backup quarterbacks have always come under more scrutiny than other teams’ because, well, it’s Bill Belichick and the Patriots. That was magnified this season with Brady suspended the first four games because of Deflategate.
Garoppolo started the first two games, but injured his shoulder during the second half of a 31-24 victory against Miami in Week 2.
Brissett finished that game and was the starter the following week against Houston. He completed 11-of-19 passes for 103 yards and ran eight times for 48 yards in New England’s 27-0 victory.
But he injured his throwing thumb late in the win against the Texans, and the Patriots went into full secrecy mode – closely guarding the status of Garoppolo and Brissett – before their Week 4 game against Buffalo.
Brissett started against the Bills, but it was obvious early on he was far less than 100 percent. With Garoppolo inactive and wide receiver Julian Edelman the emergency quarterback, Brissett took every snap in the 16-0 defeat.
Although the Patriots lost, Brissett won the respect of his teammates and coaches.
“We all know Jacoby’s a really tough guy. It just reiterated it,” said rookie guard Joe Thuney, Brissett’s former Wolfpack teammate. “The guys all wanted to play for him.”
Brissett had surgery five days after the Buffalo game, a procedure in which doctors “pretty much connected my thumb back together,” he said.
He downplayed the notion that he’d sacrificed his body or taken one for the team by playing against the Bills.
“At this position, that’s what you sign up for. I think Tom or Jimmy would do the same thing,” he said. “That’s part of being a quarterback. You’ve got to play through injuries like that.”
Brissett spent the next 12 weeks on injured reserve, but was activated during Week 15. It seemed like an odd move for a team that normally carries just two quarterbacks, especially when Brissett was on the inactive list for the final two regular-season games and both playoff wins.
Belichick said he wanted Brissett to get more practice reps while providing insurance at an important position. The move also has given Belichick and the Pats another month to evaluate Brissett in the event Garoppolo is traded.
“As a young player you need those reps,” Brissett said. “And I think Bill saw that and took a chance.”
Brissett, 24, who grew up in West Palm Beach, Fla., didn’t want to speculate about Garoppolo’s future or his own chances to become Brady’s backup.
“That’s not my place to call. That’s Bill’s decision, not me,” he said. “I don’t talk to Jimmy about that type of stuff because that’s not my business.”
Brissett’s business this week is to help the Patriots defense get ready for Matt Ryan, then step aside Sunday.
Or is it?
Brissett – in a Belichickian moment – played coy when asked if he would be on the inactive list for the Super Bowl.
“Hey, I don’t know,” he said, smiling. “I don’t know what we’ve got up our sleeve.”
That’s true this week and – in terms of the No. 2 QB spot – next season, as well.
Joseph Person: 704-358-5123, @josephperson
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