Tag: Brian Hoyer

Brian Hoyer explains why Rob Gronkowski was better tight end than Travis Kelce

Travis Kelce is a phenomenal tight end, but he isn’t Rob Gronkowski, per QB Brian Hoyer

Former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is widely regarded as the greatest tight end of all time, and one of his former teammates took the time to explain why.

Quarterback Brian Hoyer played with Gronkowski for four seasons and got to see his production firsthand. Gronkowski was an offense catalyst for New England for nine seasons, recording 7,861 receiving yards and 79 touchdowns. He immediately burst onto the scene, catching 17 touchdown passes in his second season in 2011. The touchdown catches are an NFL record to this day.

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is certainly having a strong career in his own right, and he has started receiving comparisons to Gronkowski in terms of his playmaking ability. On top of that, the Chiefs are being compared to the Patriots as the next great dynasty. Hoyer was a guest on the “Pats from the Past Podcast” and made sure to give Gronkowski his flowers.

While Hoyer did not diminish Kelce’s efforts, he noted that blocking is something that separates the two.

“Having played with him, maybe I’m a little biased, but [Gronkowski is] the greatest tight end of all time,” said Hoyer. “Not only because of his size, speed, and when you think of a tight end’s ability to run routes and catch. But, because he was such a great blocker that teams had to honor that. And I think that’s what made him so dynamic.

“We look at Travis Kelce today, phenomenal tight end, but really, Travis isn’t blocking anybody. Rob would block like he was the right tackle. …Rob really changed the game in that matter because he was a lineman, who was the premier pass catcher at the same time.”

It’s hard to argue with Kelce’s accomplishments, especially with the Kansas City Chiefs primed to make another Super Bowl run in 2024. However, Gronkowski still reigns supreme as the best overall tight end, at least for now.

9 Raiders free agents remain unsigned after first week

One week later and 9 Raiders free agents still unemployed

A great many departing Raiders found new homes over the past week. Some were re-signed to the team as well. You can all the team’s additions, retentions, and subtractions right here in our free agency tracker.

But not all of those who were a member of the Raiders a week ago have found a landing spot yet. Specifically these nine.

Raiders officially release 4 including QB Jimmy Garoppolo, Hunter Renfrow

QB Jimmy Garoppolo and Hunter Renfrow among 4 Raiders officially released

With the start of the new league comes a house cleaning of sorts. The Raiders first official act in that regard was to release four players from their roster.

Out are:

QB Jimmy Garoppolo
QB Brian Hoyer
WR Hunter Renfrow
DT Jerry Tillery

None of the players were released were with a June 1st designation, which means the Raiders clear some $22 million in cap space. Most of which coming from the Garoppolo ($11.26 million) and Renfrow ($8.2 million) releases.

That money is being sent directly to the additions of DT Christian Wilkins, QB Gardners Minshew, and TE Harrison Bryant. Along with the re-signing of C Andre James.

Garoppolo was signed last offseason to a two-year deal and ended up starting just six games before being benched for rookie Aidan O’Connell.

Renfrow had a Pro Bowl season in 2021, becoming just the third Raiders receiver ever to catch over 100 passes (103). He signed a new deal and then fell off the past two seasons after Josh McDaniels took over as head coach.

Tillery was never really all that effective. And new GM Tom Telesco had already cut him with the Chargers two seasons ago, so you know he wasn’t a fan either.

Hoyer…lol.

Former Patriots QB Brian Hoyer released by Raiders

Brian Hoyer will now be looking for a new home

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Brian Hoyer was released on Friday, with free agency less than a week away.

Hoyer was a mainstay for the New England quarterback room for eight seasons spread out in three different stints. He was able to see the transition of power in the room, as he was there for the Tom Brady, Cam Newton and the Mac Jones eras. He signed with the Raiders in April 2023.

Hoyer’s release will mean that the Raiders will carry a $2.6 million dead cap hit heading into next season.

The 39-year-old quarterback will now be looking for another team, as he still could provide a veteran presence in the quarterback room. He doesn’t have a high ceiling in terms of skill anymore, but he can be a stabilizing force for a quarterback-needy team in search of a veteran backup.

Las Vegas Raiders release former MSU QB Brian Hoyer

Could former Spartans quarterback Brian Hoyer finally be hanging it up after a lengthy NFL career?

Could former Spartans quarterback Brian Hoyer finally be hanging it up after a lengthy NFL career?

Hoyer was released by the Las Vegas Raiders on Friday, ending a one-year stint in the Sin City. Hoyer appeared in three games for the Raiders this past season, including one start.

Hoyer has been in the NFL since 2009, playing 15 seasons across eight different teams. He has accumulated 10,899 passing yards, 53 touchdowns and 37 interceptions during his career in the NFL.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.

Johnny Manziel never felt at home with Browns because of former Patriots QB

Johnny Manziel claims he never felt at home in the Browns’ QB room with Brian Hoyer there

Former Cleveland Browns quarterback and Texas A&M star Johnny Manziel didn’t have a great working relationship with a former New England Patriots player, and it’s not someone you’d expect.

Manziel was selected by the Browns in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft. He lasted two seasons with the organization and was a teammate of Brian Hoyer’s during that time.

Hoyer started for the Browns in the 2014 season and spent two years with the organization overall. He threw for 3,941 yards, 17 touchdowns and 16 interceptions during that time.

Manziel spoke on “Club Shay Shay” this week and talked about the dynamic of the Cleveland quarterback room during his rookie season. He pointed to Hoyer as a person who made the dynamic difficult, as transcribed by NESN.com’s Jason Ounpraseuth.

“My quarterback room was not a home for me because of Brian Hoyer,” Manziel told Shannon Sharpe. “Brian Hoyer had been waiting on an opportunity to go really provide for his family, get an opportunity and he saw how much of an upper hand he had on me, and he didn’t hold back when it came to that. There were instances in the quarterback room early on where I would ask the same question a couple of times and he’d be at the head of the table and go, ‘Pfft, again? We’re doing this again? Keep him out of it. Cut that off.’ And I don’t have a bad word to say about Brian Hoyer. That is just fact what happened in that room.”

It’s interesting to hear about the dynamic of the room itself from Manziel’s point of view. Hoyer is currently a backup quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders. If anything, it does provide extra insight into what Manziel’s early experience in the NFL was like.

It was a short run that ultimately fizzled out after two seasons.

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What Condition the Position is in: Assessing Raiders level of need at QB ahead of free agency

What Condition Raiders Position is in: Quarterback

With free agency under a month away, it’s time to check in on the Raiders’ quarterback position to give it a condition of either Strong, Stable, Unstable, Serious, or Critical.

Returning starter: Aidan O’Connell
Depth: Jimmy Garoppolo, Brian Hoyer, Anthony Brown Jr
Free Agents: None

Garoppolo began the year as the unquestioned starter. Midway through the season everyone was questioning it. And when Antonio Pierce took over, he removed Jimmy G and made rookie Aidan O’Connell the starter the remainder of the season.

Condition: Critical

Notes: O’Connell played decent at times, but didn’t show he can be the long term solution The depth here is an illusion. Jimmy G will be cut this offseason. As will Brian Hoyer.

There is no question quarterback is THE top priority for this team. It was a top priority last offseason, but Josh McDaniels opted to go with a familiar face from his New England days. That backfired spectacularly, putting the Raiders right back where they were.

5 potential Raiders offseason cuts

5 potential Raiders offseason cuts and cap ramifications

There is a bit of house cleaning that needs to happen this offseason for the Raiders. Currently they have around $38.8 million in cap space. That lands them at 12th most in the league. But they can do better. 

Cuts aren’t always about cap savings, to be clear. But sometimes it’s either the main reason for the cut or a nice byproduct. Should they make all five of the cuts below, the Raiders would save an additional $13.86 million to bring their space under the cap to $52.64 million. That would jump them up to 8th in the league as it currently stands.

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 7 loss to Bears

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 7 loss to Bears

One of the tougher tasks I have occasionally had in the 16 years I’ve been doing this series is finding anything positive in a seemingly complete collapse. This was one of those times.

The hapless Bears jumped to a 14-0 lead in this game and never looked back. The Raiders couldn’t stop the Chicago offense led by undrafted rookie QB Tyson Bagent. Mostly because they couldn’t stop the ground game and found themselves on their heels all game long.

It was so bad that even the final score didn’t accurately reflect the disparity. The final six points was a garbage time score after they were down 30-6. And honestly we all knew once the Raiders went down 21-3 in the third quarter, that was the clincher. After all, the Raiders offense hadn’t broken the 20-point barrier all season, and they were clearly not going to do it on this day.

But, as we typically do, let’s start with the glimmer of good before we go to the myriad of bad.

Ballers

DE Maxx Crosby

The best all-around edge rusher in the NFL is often the exception for the Raiders. Nearly every week he is not just a Baller, but the Top Baller. Even if that isn’t all that difficult to do on this team.

The defense didn’t hold up well most of the game, but every time they did, Crosby was the reason why.

The day began on a high note. The Bears won the toss and made the rare decision to start on offense. Then the Raiders forced a three-and-out, which immediately put them at an advantage. That advantage was created because on second down, Crosby got pressure to set up Bilal Nichols to make a tackle for loss and the Bears couldn’t dig out of it.

Down 7-0 to begin the second quarter, the Bears began driving again, picking up a couple first downs. Then Crosby burst into the backfield, forcing a holding penalty on his man and the Bears once again could not overcome it and punted.

Down 14-3 late in the second quarter, the Bears were threatening again. They moved into Vegas territory at the 47 and would get no further. Crosby flew in for the sack to put them back in their own territory with seconds left and that ended that.

That was as close as the Raiders would get. Still within two scores. Unfortunately Crosby can’t do it all by himself and the Bears were able to extend their lead, while the offense not only couldn’t close the gap, but actually made it worse with a late pick-six to turn this one into a laugher.

WR Jakobi Meyers

The Raiders had three scoring drives in the game. The first one featured a heavy dose of Meyers. He caught four consecutive passes for a combined 34 yards to put the Raiders in scoring range.

The second scoring drive featured a catch my Meyers to convert on third-and-three and a four-yard catch on second-and-goal from the ten.

He would later catch the Raiders only touchdown in the game. Even if it was a meaningless one in garbage time.

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Raiders 30-12 loss in Chicago contender for most embarrassing of Josh McDaniels’ era

Raiders debacle in Chicago contender for most embarrassing of Josh McDaniels’ era

As bad as the Raiders have been at times this season, they were actually 2.5-point favorites in Chicago Sunday. That’s because the Bears were one of the worst teams in the NFL and were without starting quarterback Justin Fields and starting an undrafted Division II rookie Tyson Bagent in his place.

The Raiders were without their starter as well, with Jimmy Garoppolo down with an injured back. In his place was 15-year veteran Brian Hoyer.

The thinking seemed to be that Hoyer was able to do enough last week to let the Raiders defense secure a 21-17 win over the Patriots. And with the Bears not figuring to be able to mount much of an attack on offense, Hoyer could at least be a steady presence over rookie Aidan O’Connell.

None of this game went the way the Raiders had hoped.

The Bears ran all over the Raiders’ defense while the Raiders offense was stuck in cement. And at QB, it was Bagent who was the steady presence while Hoyer completed just 17 passes for 126 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions — one a pick six.

The Bears jumped out to a 14-0 lead early and were up 21-3 by the end of the third quarter. Their third touchdown looking like the one that iced it because the Raiders offense hasn’t broken 20 points all season. They only managed 21 points last week because of a game-clinching safety.

But even being down that much with 12 minutes left in the game, after the offense failed to get a touchdown on seven attempts from the nine-yard-line and Josh McDaniels sent out the field goal unit.

A field goal and a pick six put the Bears up 30-6 with just over five minutes left.

The debacle had many people asking is this was the most embarrassing of Josh McDaniels’s time as Raiders head coach.

It’s a valid question because there have been at least two more losses that may give this one a run for its money.

Last season the Raiders faced the Colts with recent high school coach Jeff Saturday making his NFL head coaching debut. Saturday’s Colts would beat McDaniels’s Raiders and then fail to win another game.

A few weeks later, the Raiders would face the Rams with Baker Mayfield at quarterback having signed with the team two days prior and not even having had an official practice and Mayfield carved the Raiders up.

For what it’s worth, the Saturday/Colts loss got my vote.

The mere fact that we’re asking this question is saying a lot. That in just 24 games as head coach of the Raiders, we have three losses that are so completely embarrassing that it’s hard to say which one takes the prize.

And it’s not like the Raiders have played well otherwise and this game comes out of nowhere.

After a 17-16 win over the Broncos in the season opener thanks to the Broncos missing a field goal and an extra point, the Raiders rattled off three straight losses. Then, despite the offense scoring 17 and 19 points, they managed to put together consecutive wins against struggling Packers and Patriots teams to pull to .500.

The Bears came in bad enough most figured the Raiders — despite clearly being one of the worst teams in football — would still be able to get the win to pull to a winning record. Not only did they fail to do that, but it was never close.

It isn’t often a team is even put in a position to face either a recent high school coach in his debut or a quarterback who was signed two days prior, or an undrafted former Division II rookie making his first start. Let alone look as terrible as the Raiders have in those matchups.

For that reason, it’s hard to imagine McDaniels will have another game this season that will measure up to the level of embarrassment we saw Sunday in Chicago. But I won’t rule it out. They have ten more games this season to top it.