FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots activated rookie quarterback Jacoby Brissett from injured reserve to their active roster on Wednesday, and Bill Belichick summed up the decision this way: "Nobody needs insurance until you need insurance."

Brissett will serve as the No. 3 option behind Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo, and might not take a snap the rest of the year.

"The most important thing for us is to win. That’s what we’re here for. He gives us depth at a position that’s an important position," Belichick said. "I don’t know if we’re going to need it. I don’t know if we’re not going to need it. At least he knows our system. He’s played here. It’s an important position.

"I don’t think you want to bring a guy on to the team in the postseason that hasn’t been with you all year, which is where we would be if we only had two quarterbacks. Sometimes that’s where you are. This year we had an option, so that’s what we did."

Belichick noted the growth of Brissett, a third-round draft choice out of NC State, over the course of the past eight months. Even after undergoing surgery on the thumb of his right (throwing) hand, Brissett stayed around the team.

"Jacoby got better every day for several months and then he didn’t miss anything in terms of meetings or preparation, traveled with us on the road and so forth," Belichick said. "He just wasn’t able to do much. Now that’s he’s come back, he is working his way back into it. You just don’t pick up where you left off without having the opportunity to have the timing of all of those plays and just being able to throw the ball for a couple of months or however long it was that he wasn’t able to do it, six weeks or whatever it was.

"So all of that is coming back, but it’s not like training camp, where you’re out there pretty much every day. We only practice, let’s call it three times per week. It’s just less of what he needs, but the other guys are at a different point in the season and so we have to try and manage the team. But he’s making progress. He’s coming. We’ll do the best we can. We’re limited in some ways."