Before the Indianapolis Colts released quarterback Brian Hoyer, who ended up signing with the New England Patriots, the two teams reportedly engaged in trade discussions for the veteran signal-caller.
Because the Colts had just signed Philip Rivers to a one-year deal to be their starter—and the Patriots had just lost Tom Brady to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—both sides had a mutual interest.
Stephen Holder of The Athletic reported that the Colts and Patriots were in trade talks for Hoyer, discussing compensation, but a deal never came to fruition.
While it’s unclear how close this came to fruition, two league sources said the Colts and Patriots engaged in discussions last week about a potential deal for quarterback Brian Hoyer.
Both clubs were reacting to quarterback moves earlier in the week. The Patriots were dealing with Tom Brady’s decision to leave as a free agent and needed quarterback depth. The Colts, after signing Philip Rivers, had a logjam at the position.
This wasn’t a completely hypothetical conversation, either. Compensation was discussed. But in the end, the deal never materialized.
The Colts wound up releasing Hoyer on Saturday, in which the Patriots signed him to a one-year deal to compete with second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham following the departure of Brady.
As Rivers is leading the quarterback room and Jacoby Brissett is likely to stay on the roster despite his salary cap hit, it seems the Colts tried to get some compensation for Hoyer before releasing him.
It doesn’t mean much now, but now we know there were talks to trade Hoyer to the Patriots before he was released.