Brian Hoyer is no stranger to Foxboro. This offseason, they signed the former Spartan to a one-year contract, marking his third stint in New England.
The 34-year-old went undrafted in 2009 following two seasons as the starter for Michigan State under Mark Dantonio. Since being signed as an undrafted free agent to back up Tom Brady, Hoyer has bounced around and earned a few starting opportunities.
In his 11 seasons, Hoyer holds a 16-22 quarterback record while throwing for 10,274 yards, 52 touchdowns and 34 interceptions. While those numbers may not be impressive at first glance, it’s important to note that he is the only quarterback to lead the Browns to a record above .500 in his starts since the team returned to Cleveland in 1999.
The Colts released Hoyer earlier this offseason after signing Philip Rivers. As a result, Indianapolis still owes Hoyer $950,000. New England will pay him just over $1 million in salary, and he has the opportunity to earn another $2 million depending on just how much he sees the field. This was all broken down by Ben Volin of The Boston Globe.
In addition to his $1.05m base salary with the Patriots, Brian Hoyer also has $2m in playtime incentives this year. So he can make up to $3.05m with the Pats, and he'll get another $950k from the Colts
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) March 25, 2020
Chances he makes the roster: 99%
At this point, the Patriots have four quarterbacks on the roster: Hoyer, Jarrett Stidham, Brian Lewerke and J’Mar Smith. With Lewerke and Smith being undrafted free agents this season, they will have a lot of work to do to earn a spot.
New England reportedly told Hoyer’s camp that he would have an opportunity to compete for the starting job. Currently, that competition seems to be between Stidham and Hoyer. If Hoyer doesn’t win the job, he’ll still likely be kept around because of his knowledge of the system and his work ethic in practice.
There are other veteran quarterbacks still available on the market, but none have the institutional knowledge of New England and come at the price that Hoyer does.
What it means for Hoyer
In his 11 years, Hoyer has mainly been a career back-up. He’s earned some starting reps, but no team has committed to him for an extended period of time. Where the Patriots are, in terms of their future, should lead fans to believe that the best chance of long-term success doesn’t come from Hoyer starting.
From his teammates to the media, there have been a lot of people talking up Stidham in New England. It’s starting to seem like the second-year quarterback has the upper hand in this competition.
Hoyer is still a valuable player to have in the organization. When he’s been in New England and Brady has missed practices or OTAs, Hoyer has stepped in and led well. He’ll probably take on more of a leadership role this year and perform like a player-coach.
No matter the outcome of the position battle, Hoyer will be in New England this year, and the Patriots will be better with him.
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