Jacoby Brissett suffers shoulder injury on big hit in Patriots' preseason finale
BOSTON -- Jacoby Brissett got the start for the Patriots in the team's preseason finale against the Commanders on Sunday night. But the veteran quarterback played just one series after suffering a right shoulder injury on a big hit in his final tune-up before the regular season.
With Brissett likely starting the regular season as New England's No. 1 quarterback, watching him take a huge hit on Sunday night was the last thing that the Patriots wanted to see. But Brissett was crushed by Washington's KJ Henry after the New England offensive line became unglued for a play.
Patriots left guard Sidy Sow ran into rookie right guard Layden Robinson on the play, leaving Henry free to put a big hit on Brissett. Henry did just that, sending Brissett hard into the turf for a seven-yard loss. Brissett remained in the game, but was clearly shaken up after the hit.
Brissett got some great protection from his line two plays later and didn't seem to be bothered by the shoulder as he delivered a nice deep ball to KJ Osborn downfield. But the receiver tried to haul in the pass one-handed and it dropped incomplete, robbing the New England offense of a big play.
That was it for Brissett, who took a seat for rookie Drake Maye after that one series. Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said that his veteran would only play a series or two before the game, so maybe Brissett was going to go back out for another drive before he took that big hit. No evaluation was done on Brissett on the sideline, and the team classified him as "questionable to return" in the second quarter. So the Patriots don't seem to be too concerned about the potential injury.
Brissett was 2-for-4 for 19 yards against the Commanders to cap off a lackluster preseason. Over the three exhibition games, Brissett was just 5-for-15 for 38 yards and a red-zone interception.
Maye led the Patriots on an 11-play, 88-yard touchdown on his first drive of the game, connecting with running back Kevin Harris for a 19-yard score to give New England a 7-0 lead.
Mayo said he would likely know who will be the team's Week 1 starting quarterback by Monday. Brissett's potential injury -- and more big play from Maye -- are going to make that decision a little more difficult on the first-year head coach.
