Patriots add Brissett

The Patriots selected QB Jacoby Brissett with the 91st pick of the 2016 NFL Draft.  He becomes the 3rd QB drafted by New England in the past 6 years.  Ryan Mallett attempted 4 passes for the Pats, while Jimmy Garoppolo has chucked it 31 times through his first 2 seasons.  Brissett started his college career at Florida before transferring to North Carolina State, where he completed 59.9% of his passes with 43 TDs and 11 INTs.  He possesses prototypical size at 6'4, 231 pounds and has an NFL-caliber arm.  Brissett will sit behind Garoppolo and, of course, Tom Brady this season.  But he could eventually push Garoppolo for the right to be Brady's heir apparent.  

The Patriots have agreed to a one-year, $8 million deal with QB Jacoby Brissett, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. That's about the same money Brissett got last offseason in Washington, where he backed up QB Sam Howell. New England has no better QB on the roster right now but holds the No. 3 pick in the NFL Draft. That certainly puts them in position to grab one of the top three QBs -- if they like that guy enough. Brissett arrives as a potential backup or bridge starter, though not much of a fantasy factor in any case.

Commanders QB Jacoby Brissett is inactive for today’s game vs. the 49ers. QB Sam Howell will be back under center but would be tough to trust in fantasy lineups after getting benched the past two weeks.

Commanders QB Jacoby Brissett (hamstring) is "unlikely" to play vs. the 49ers today, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. "But the team wants to see how he feels in pre-game warmups before making any decisions," Schefter adds. We'll get Washington's inactives around 11:30 am ET, but it sounds like it'll be QB Sam Howell back under center today. He's been so bad the past two weeks that he's been benched for Brissett. Howell would be tough to trust even as a QB2 in Week 17 fantasy lineups.

Commanders QB Jacoby Brissett hurt a hamstring in Friday's practice and is now questionable for Sunday's game against the 49ers. We'll have to watch his status through the weekend. No Brissett would mean another start for Sam Howell. The San Francisco matchup hasn't been awful for QB scoring but has certainly been negative. Howell, meanwhile, has been awful over his past three games. He has finished three straight weeks with 127 passing yards or less, getting pulled in each of the past two games. He doesn't belong in any fantasy lineups, and his recent performance would mean bad news for Washington pass-catchers vs. Brissett starting. Watch for rankings updates as the situation becomes clearer.

The Commanders named QB Jacoby Brissett the Week 17 starter. Brissett has provided a spark over the past two weeks, totaling 224 yards and 3 TDs on a 78.3% completion rate. We’re not excited about the former Colt as a fantasy starter – especially against the 49ers. But Brissett raises the outlook for Washington’s WR corps, most notably Terry McLaurin. See where he and Brissett sit in our updated Week 17 rankings.