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.
The Patriots love Hoyer’s knowledge and work ethic, especially in their system.
There were plenty of options for quarterbacks to bring in, both on the trade market and in free agency. The Patriots opted to go for Hoyer who has spent more than four seasons in New England. He has starter experience (38 starts – including an impressive 10-6 record with the Browns) and comes at the low price of only $1 million.
The main selling point may have been how comfortable he is in the Patriots’ system. Over the last few seasons, Brady has taken fewer and fewer practice reps with the starters for various reasons. Hoyer has been able to fill in during Brady’s absences, and the offense continues to work. Hoyer’s ability may not be the same as Brady’s, but his effort and practice routine is just what the Patriots want.
Another veteran quarterback probably isn’t coming to New England this season.
At this point in time, it feels like Hoyer or Kessler will be the veteran leader that the Patriots bring into the regular season. They will either be able to start or help the younger quarterback(s) grow. Part of this has been the way that Patriots’ rosters have been built in the past, granted it’s a little different without Brady. The other part comes from the financial aspect.
According to NFL writer and cap analyst Miguel Benzan, the Patriots have roughly $2 million in cap space. Jameis Winston, Cam Newton, Andy Dalton, or any other names that have been thrown around will cost more than what the Patriots have left in space.
This doesn’t mean that New England is done at the position and this is what they’ll enter training camp with. Another quarterback in the draft isn’t off the table, but another move for a veteran seems unlikely.
