Bill Belichick may have no time for your silly questions about football-related medical matters, but from the moment quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo's right shoulder was driven into the turf during last Sunday's win over the Dolphins, he seemed like a long shot to play Thursday night when the Patriots host the Texans.

Game day is here and, while there has been no official word (and there almost certainly won't be), the expectation is that rookie third-rounder Jacoby Brissett will make his first NFL start. NFL Network is reporting as much, with the caveat that Garoppolo, sprained AC joint and all, will dress as the emergency backup behind Brissett.

Of course, we should fully expect offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to pare down the offense, right? Nope.

Meanwhile, CSNNE.com's Tom Curran reports that Garoppolo has a Grade 2 AC joint injury, for which the typical recovery time is two to four weeks. And ESPN.com's Mike Reiss says that the Patriots aren't expected to dress Garoppolo.

With Tom Brady still two weeks away from returning to the team, the other quarterback option behind Brissett is wide receiver Julian Edelman, who played quarterback at Kent State. (If you're interested, there are in-depth looks at Brissett and Edelman, NFL passing threats, here and here.)

The Patriots are also expected to be without all-world tight end Rob Gronkowksi, who missed the first two regular-season games with a hamstring injury. But -- and there's always a "well, we can't be definitive" "but" with this team -- according to the Boston Globe's Ben Volin, Gronk has been telling teammates this week that he plans to play while also recognizing that, ultimately, it will be up to Belichick.

At this point -- with the Brady-less Pats sitting at 2-0 -- nothing would surprise us, including the news that Belichick decided to roll with Gronkowski at quarterback. Because why not.