That scare involving Jacoby Brissett on a cart? Turned out he didn't want to run inside

TAMPA — Backup quarterback Reid Sinnett was taking warmup throws and firing up the receivers.

Coach Brian Flores was saying Jacoby Brissett was definitely hindered.

Usually when a player is in distress and takes a ride to the locker room on a cart, he’s never seen again that day.

Turns out Brissett just felt like hitching a ride on the Jacobymobile.

Evidently, Uber doesn’t service inside Raymond James Stadium.

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A quick ride to the locker room to tend to what needed attention, and Brissett was back on the Dolphins’ sideline without missing a snap.

“I didn’t want to run and I could just get on the cart and get there faster,” Brissett said following the Dolphins’ 45-17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Brissett appeared to be a mixture of surprised and amused at the concern raised when he was seen riding a cart shortly after a scramble for no gain. He was announced to have a hamstring issue, which was what had Flores concerned — even if Brissett never questioned whether he’d return.

“For sure,” Brissett said. “No question.”

Brissett had a good day personally, spreading the ball to nine different receivers and finishing 27-of-39 for 275 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and a 95.6 passer rating.

Just as Brissett popped back up off that cart, he said he remains optimistic despite the team’s 1-4 start.

“I continue to say it, but we actually are getting better,” Brissett said. “Then they’ll start to pile up when they start to pile up. I think we have the right group of guys that understand, ‘Hey, we didn’t sign up for an easy task. It’s not like everybody was saying that the Miami Dolphins might win the Super Bowl.’ But I think we have the right guys, the right men, the right coaches. We’ll continue to learn each other and pull each other in the right positions and makes plays.”

There’s a good chance Brissett’s time as a starter is ending. Tua Tagovailoa could be activated off injured reserve this week and face the Jacksonville Jaguars in London next weekend. Even if that’s the case, it appears Brissett showed the Dolphins something Sunday.

“I thought his toughness, his competitiveness obviously showed,” Flores said. “I thought he did a lot of good things, put us in some good positions.”

Brissett incorporated Preston Williams (three receptions, 60 yards) back into the offense.

“We put a lot of different guys in different positions,” Brissett said. “Obviously, having Preston out there and made a bunch of plays for us. I think the effort was to find ways to get everybody the ball and get everybody involved. I thought we did that at times.”

Brissett also was 10 for 10 in targeting running back Myles Gaskin, who had 74 yards and two touchdowns receiving.

“He’s a tough dude,” Gaskin said. “Like we said in the beginning, we trust Jacoby. He’s been in the league for a while. He’s going to put his heart out there every single day, even in practice, in meetings and everything. When you see him go down, definitely worried us, but when you see him come back it’s not surprising. That guy is a tough guy and he wants to win.”

If toughness earned Brissett a measure of respect in his locker room, he’ll take it.

“I guess from my love of the game,” he said. “Love for my teammates, love for this sport and it comes with everything that I believe in.”