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.

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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 after the team’s 20-10 loss that Brissett “would have been able to continue,” and Brissett said that he was “good.”

“We’ll see tomorrow. You always feel more sore the next day, but he said that he was good,” said Mayo.

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. He was 13-for-20 on the night for 126 yards, and looked calm and comfortable in his final preseason action.

So who will start Week 1 against the Bengals? Mayo referred to Maye as the team’s “second-best quarterback” on Sunday night, which gives us a really good indication that Brissett will get the nod. 

Now the Patriots need to figure out a way to improve the play of the offensive line, or it really won’t matter who is playing quarterback for New England.