Shortly after being released by the Houston Texans, Brian Hoyer is getting plenty of calls from around the NFL. The New York Jets and Denver Broncos are showing serious interest by bringing in the quarterback for visits. If he doesn’t sign with one of the two teams, the Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys might be next in line.
Hoyer, when healthy, didn’t have a very good season in Houston, despite going 5-4 as a starter, playing in 11 games overall. He completed 60.7% of his passes (career high since becoming a starter), while throwing 19 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. He also posted a 91.4 passer rating. The numbers suggest it wasn’t too bad, and certainly better than anything else the Texans had. But remember Brandon Weeden basically got them into the playoffs. And Hoyer played one of his worst games in the playoffs, completing 15-for-34 while getting intercepted four times as the Texans got bounced by the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild card round.
So while Hoyer is a better option than some, he’s not what the Texans were hoping for, and so they move on from yet another mediocre quarterback to try something new. It’s the one position they can’t seem to figure out since Matt Schaub inexplicably imploded and become one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL without warning anyone it’s going to happen. Brock Osweiler is their new direction, and a very expensive one.
One bad playoff performance and a career of mediocrity isn’t keeping Hoyer out of a job. The Broncos, desperate for someone to give Mark Sanchez some competition, were the first to call and bring him in for a visit. The Jets, a team that still hasn’t been able to find the magic number that re-signs Ryan Fitzpatrick, have brought him over for a visit too. I don’t think anyone on the team is confident about the prospect of Geno Smith starting at quarterback next season.
But Hoyer has other options. The Bears want a backup, and so do the Cowboys, considering how often Tony Romo is injured. The Pittsburgh Steelers are in the same boat, seeing that Landy Jones might never be ready to take over for Ben Roethlisberger, another quarterback who struggles staying on the field for 16 games in a season. Hoyer keeps coasting without doing anything too well, as shown by the demand he’s in despite the very little he’s done recently.