It was a marriage of necessity, convenience, comfort and, to the player, stability.
When Brian Hoyer found his way back the Patriots — the team that had signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2009 and developed him — after six years and six different teams in 2017 following the trade of Jimmy Garoppolo trade to San Francisco, all seemed right in everyone's world.
The Patriots got a trusted backup, a Tom Brady confidant and the peace of mind knowing his understudy was well-versed in the team's complicated system.
Hoyer received some sought-after stability in the form of a three-year contract that would pay him a total of $4.41 million. Hoyer could have received more money elsewhere, but what he really wanted, with a young family, was a place to settle down and put down some roots. He figured his $2.85-million salary in the third year — and the $1.5 million guarantee ($200,000 of which had already been paid) — did that.
He was wrong. The 34-year-old quarterback, who is set to make his first start for the Colts on Sunday against the Dolphins in place of injured starter — and former Patriots QB — Jacoby Brissett, told BostonSportsJournal.com it was "a shock" to be released by the Patriots in favor of rookie Jarrett Stidham. He also explained the chatter behind the scenes that nearly resulted in his return to New England.
"The end with the Patriots … it is what it is," Hoyer said. "I didn’t think (getting released) was even a possibility ... It was disappointing to me and it was kind of a shock. I know the media played it up like it was going to happen, but from the inside, I never once felt that it was going to happen."
Hoyer said Bill Belichick told him his release was just a number's game, and that they would like to sign him back in a week or two. The Patriots' decision to twice add veteran journeyman Cody Kessler to the quarterback room is further proof the team wanted another quarterback around.
"I think (his place on the roster) was kind of evident when they said, 'Hey, it’s a roster situation and we’d like to have you back whether it’s a week or two weeks,'" Hoyer said.
The problem was, the Colts were one of several teams to immediately reach out to Hoyer. Reeling from the retirement of Andrew Luck, Indianapolis offered Hoyer a three-year contract worth up to $12 million (his contract is cuttable after this season). Despite the fact that the Patriots said they'd come calling, Hoyer felt the Colts offered an opportunity that was too good to pass up.
"I didn’t think that I could wait around a week or two," Hoyer explained. "It was a great opportunity and a great offer that I didn’t really think that I could pass up, not knowing what the situation would be when I went back to New England.
"It was something that I thought was the best option for me and my family at the time and even though you don’t want to uproot your family, I remember telling my agent, 'I’m not going to a bad situation no matter what the money is,' and when the opportunity to come here, you obviously hear great things about Frank Reich and Chris Ballard and knowing Jacoby a little bit helped. I knew what he was and what they thought of him. Just to come here and help him as much as I could and, as you saw this past weekend, be ready to play if something happens."
Brissett suffered an injury to his left knee early in the second quarter of last week’s eventual loss to the Steelers. Hoyer, who teammates said hadn't prepared for the game and was chiefly running the scout team leading up to the game in Pittsburgh, completed 17 of 26 passes (65.4 percent) for 168 yards with three touchdowns against one pick-six, for a passer rating of 105.9.
“When you look back at the tape Brian played pretty well. He played really well, in fact,” Reich said this week. “Obviously, the pick-six was the kind of big blemish on the ‘scorecard.’ But I think the reason is he has played a lot of football (is) he is really a smart player. He has really assimilated well to the offense.”
Sunday will be Hoyer 38th career start, and first since Week 6 in 2017 for the 49ers. He knows he's just keeping the seat warm for Brissett, who was downgraded to out on Saturday.
Even though they were never teammates with the Patriots, the two became friendly through some of Brady's off-season excursions, namely the Kentucky Derby trips. Having been Brissett's teammate has allowed Hoyer to gain a new respect for his running mate.
Sunday’s game against the Dolphins will represent Hoyer’s 38th career start, and his first since Week 6 of the 2017 season, when he was a member of the San Francisco 49ers.
"I think he’s a unique individual and I remember like everybody else how shocking it was when Andrew retired," Hoyer said. "And I remember how the Colts talked about how they were confident in Jacoby in the aftermath. They weren’t just saying that to build him up because he was going to be the starting quarterback. It’s because it’s true.
"He’s a great teammate, a great leader, the guys respect him so much. I could tell immediately when I walked in that they loved playing for this guy, they loved playing with him. His demeanor on the sideline has been great. Never gets too high, never gets too low ... positive guy, super smart. I haven’t been shocked at all (the Colts' 5-3 record) and obviously being there with him day in and day out, I’ve seen how great of a player and quarterback that he is."
NICKEL PACKAGE
1. Boy, what a terrible NFL viewing weekend in the 1 p.m. window for the Patriots to be on the bye. There isn't one game in that time slot that features games between two teams with winning records. The best of the bunch is the Chiefs (6-3) at Titans (4-5). Yuck. Anyone want to watch the Bills-Browns, Falcons-Saints, Ravens-Bengals, Cardinals-Bucs or Jets-Giants? Didn't think so.
2. The marquee matchup of the week is the Monday Night showdown when the Seahawks visit the Niners. Could the last undefeated team fall for the second-straight week? It's always possible, but I think San Francisco's lines are the great equalizer. I don't see how the 49ers don't beat up that Seattle offensive line and stifle that offense.
3. Count Chris Simms who would like to see a Kyle Shanahan-Bill Belchick rematch in the Super Bowl. As for how the first one went down, I agree with Simms that it was totally wrong for people to throw Shanahan under the bus — and Dan Quinn let it happen — for not running the ball three times and taking a field goal. "Do we blame Josh McDaniels for clock management with the Patriots? That makes no sense. That’s the head coach’s job," Simms said. "Everybody let Kyle eat the bullet on that one and that was totally, totally wrong in my opinion. The OC is always going to do what he's done all season — keep moving the ball and scoring points. It's up to the head coach to tell him to dial it back."
4. Former Lions safety and captain Quandre Diggs told the Detroit Free Press that the team's decision to trade him at the deadline was about Matt Patricia wanting to ouster his strong personality. "I think it was more of just a control thing," he said. "Them wanting to control the locker room. Control the locker room, control voices in the locker room. ... I wouldn’t say totally unexpected because things were not great there. But it was definitely a head-scratcher for me at that time, at that moment, with the Lions in the playoff race getting rid of their defensive leader.”
5. If you want to talk about personnel misses, just look at the Eagles ... to the benefit of the Ravens and the misfortune of the Patriots. Philadelphia waived linebacker L.J. Fort to hold onto a fourth-round compensatory pick that was tied to the departure of linebacker Jordan Hicks, who signed with the Arizona Cardinals in March. Fort never played on defense for the Eagles. The Ravens happily scooped him up and he started at middle linebacker in the upset of the Patriots. Baltimore gave Fort a two-year, $5.5-million extension on Friday. The Eagles have struggled at linebacker all season. Oops.
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