The "next man up" ethos is getting a bit out of hand in New England.
Jacoby Brissett tore a ligament in his thumb in Thursday night's shutout of the Houston Texans and might need surgery to fix the issue, WEEI reported Friday afternoon.
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Brissett impressed in his first NFL start, which occurred because of the shoulder injury suffered by Jimmy Garoppolo on Sunday. Garoppolo, of course, was only starting because Tom Brady is serving a four-game suspension in the wake of the Deflategate scandal.
Not that any of this has slowed the Patriots, who are off to a 3-0 start, but presumably there's a limit to the magic Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels can work.
Garoppolo could very well be healthy in time to resume the starting role for the Patriots' next game, Oct. 2 against the Buffalo Bills. In fact, one report Thursday afternoon by NFL Media, which was later proven false, indicated he might be able to dress as the backup against the Texans.
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That role instead fell to wide receiver Julian Edelman, but he ended up being able to stick to his day job and serve as Brissett's top target in a limited passing attack, catching four balls for 38 yards Thursday night.
Brissett threw for only 103 yards but rushed for 48 more and a touchdown. Most importantly, the Patriots did not turn the ball over and put more than enough points on the board to back a stellar effort by their defense in the 27-0 win.
