Report: Colts Will Sign QB Matt Hasselbeck To Back-Up Andrew Luck

Well, it didn't take long for former-Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck to find a new team. Less than 24 hours after he was dumped by Tennessee, Adam Schefter of ESPN is reporting that Hasselbeck will sign with the Indianapolis Colts tomorrow to be Andrew Luck's back-up.

Mind you, Schefter's report does not sound like this deal is final, but it does make it sound as if Hasselbeck signing his name on the dotted line is a mere formality.

And no, before you ask, Matt Hasselbeck does not also play wide receiver.

What he does do is play quarterback pretty well. He has a career 60% completion percentage, 34,517 career yards, and 201 career TDs to go with 147 career INTs. He's also spent the better part of his fourteen years in the NFL playing in a West Coast offense, similar to the one new Colts offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton is installing this offseason.

Signing Hasselbeck addresses a key need this offseason, especially considering last year's back-up QB, Drew Stanton, bolted Indianapolis to hang out with Bruce Arians in the Arizona desert. If Arians were still the offensive coordinator with the Colts, signing a player like Hasselbeck would make little sense. He simply doesn't have the arm strength he once had, and even in his prime Hasselbeck's arm wasn't a Howitzer. However, the West Coast offense, with its crossing routes, timing patterns, and power-running are much more a fit for Hasselbeck's skill set. He can also use his years of knowledge in the system to coach third string QB Chandler Harnish.

The irony of Indianapolis signing Hasselbeck now is that they reportedly tried to ink him during the 2011 offseason, after the lockout. This was when there was still tremendous uncertainty as to whether Peyton Manning would play again. Had Hasselbeck signed with Indy back then, there's a very good chance they would have won more than two games that year.

That would have meant no Manning release, no de-Polianation, and no Andrew Luck.

Timing is everything, isn't it?

[UPDATE]:

Now told barring a major last-minute snafu, the Colts will sign Matt Hasselbeck tomorrow to a two year deal worth roughly $8 million.

— BobKravitz (@bkravitz) March 19, 2013