Food for thought: Should New England Patriots consider trading for Colin Kaepernick?

In the wake of Jimmy Garoppolo suffering a shoulder injury in Week 2, the New England Patriots are in the market for a veteran quarterback to back-up Jacoby Brissett in Week 3. Might Colin Kaepernick cross Bill Belichick’s mind?

Maybe, just maybe, the Patriots will consider trading for Colin Kaepernick. After all, they need to wheel and deal for a quarterback as soon as possible to provide depth for Jacoby Brissett on Thursday night. This is not a plea for the Patriots to start Kaepernick over Brissett, but rather to introduce the idea of Bill Belichick pulling off an out-of-the-blue move. Brissett will start in Week 3, that much is for sure.

More from Musket Fire

• Patriots get steal of the night with perfect first round pick
• What trading Mac Jones during the draft can do for the Patriots
• Best and worst draft picks during the Bill Belichick era
• Early round Patriots draft picks you’ll hate now, love later
• Musket Fire Roundup: Our own final predictions for round 1

That being said, it is paramount that the Patriots act quickly and sign a backup quarterback to at least dress for Thursday night’s encounter with the streaking Houston Texans.

The way it looks right now, the Patriots’ offense literally just needs a quarterback to man the controls and steer the ship. The offensive line is excelling; LeGarrette Blount is running like a madman; there is no shortage of receiving weapons, from Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan to Martellus Bennett and James White.

In Case You Missed It:: Likes and dislikes from Week 2 win

As we saw upon Garoppolo’s exit yesterday, the Patriots’ offense is significantly less dynamic without Brady or Garoppolo at the helm. However, the Patriots were between a rock and a hard place when Garoppolo went down, as Brissett has barely practiced with the starters.

A few days of tossing with Edelman, Amendola, Hogan, Bennett and White, as well as hours of cramming in the film room, ought to somewhat prepare Brissett for his first career start. Nonetheless, the Pats need to add a veteran thrower to use in a backup role, and that’s where this article focuses its attention.

Enter Kaepernick, a much-beleaguered quarterback who is making headlines these days for everything but his play (because he isn’t playing).

The San Francisco 49ers have been trying to shed the Kaepernick deadweight from their roster for some time now. The Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns have dominated trade rumors involving Kaepernick, but now the Patriots may factor into that conversation.

Look, it wouldn’t be that hard to trade for Kaepernick. The 49ers are fully on the Blaine Gabbert train, and could care less about the former star. Meanwhile, the Patriots desperately need to find a backup quarterback for Thursday night.

Barring an injury to Brissett, the veteran the Patriots acquire this week would not have to step foot on the field. He simply has to hold the clipboard and provide emergency relief duty should Brissett go down. So why not Kaepernick?

It’s anyone’s guess as to how Bill Belichick will address this tricky situation, so admittedly this is a bit of shooting in the dark. But come on, it’s intriguing to think about Kaepernick in New England. He would have to change his jersey number from No. 7, though; Brissett has dibs on that one.