An old friend has returned to Foxboro, as the Patriots signed quarterback Brian Hoyer to a one-year deal. This is Hoyer’s third stint with New England, and it may be his most important.

With Tom Brady in Tampa Bay, the Patriots enter a period of uncertainty at quarterback for the first time since the team drafted Drew Bledsoe with the first overall pick in 1993. The depth chart has three quarterbacks on it – Hoyer, Jarrett Stidham, and Cody Kessler – but no one knows who will get the call come the season opener.

New England made signing Hoyer a priority the moment he was released from Indianapolis. Here are three takeaways from the decision to re-sign him.

There will be multiple camp battles going on at quarterback this year.

It was virtually a guarantee that there was going to be a competition for the starting job in the 2020 edition of Patriots training camp. Stidham would’ve been in a battle with either a veteran coming in or a rookie that the Patriots drafted. Now, it appears there will be more than one.

According to Hoyer’s agent, Joe Linta, the Patriots offered Hoyer an opportunity to compete for the starting job. So, he will fill the role of the veteran competing with Stidham. However, if Stidham does win the job, there may be a second competition going on for the backup role. It doesn’t seem likely that New England keeps both Hoyer and Kessler as the veteran backup. One will have to win that job over the other.