The Jets appear locked in on a quarterback with the No. 2 pick, but that hasn’t stopped Joe Douglas from looking at a veteran to sit behind him.
Brian Hoyer, who played for the Patriots last year, is set to visit the Jets today, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. He only appeared in one game in 2020, throwing for 130 yards, no touchdowns and one interception in a Week 4 loss to the Chiefs.
The 13-year veteran would play backup and mentor to the Jets’ rookie quarterback.
Hoyer has a few connections to the Jets. He started six games for the 49ers in 2017 when Mike LaFleur was the passing game coordinator and went 7-6 with the Browns in 2014 when LaFleur was an intern under offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. If anything, Hoyer would be familiar with the offense the Jets will likely run in 2021 and would be a fine fill-in quarterback if necessary.
This wouldn’t be the first time the Jets courted Hoyer, either. They brought him in for a visit in 2016 as a fallback plan if contract negotiations with Ryan Fitzpatrick fell through. Hoyer ultimately signed with the Bears while the Jets signed Fitzpatrick, though neither quarterback performed well.
Right now, the Jets’ “plan” for QB2 is 2020 is fourth-round rookie James Morgan, who didn’t see the field once last year and wasn’t even activated for a game. Bringing in a veteran like Hoyer, who understands the offense already, would help bridge the gap between the playbook and the field for whichever rookie quarterback the Jets draft.
