With Mac Jones officially ruled out for Sunday’s game at Green Bay, Brian Hoyer will make his 40th career NFL start but just his second for the New England Patriots even though it is his third tour of duty with the team.
The other 38 starts were spread out over seven other teams. The 36-year-old undrafted quarterback has played for organizations in five divisions and four time zones. Undrafted quarterbacks rarely make rosters. Hoyer is in his 14th season.
His full resume looks like this:
- Hoyer was a Patriot from 2009-11 and appeared in 13 games, all in relief.
- He played two games and made his first career start with the Arizona Cardinals in 2012.
- Hoyer played 17 games and started 16 with the Cleveland Browns in 2013 and 2014. He was 10-6 as a starter, making him the last Browns starting QB with a winning record.
- He spent 2015 in Houston and was 5-4 in nine starts.
- Hoyer was a Bear in 2016 and started five games before an injury ended his season.
- He spent six weeks in San Francisco to open the 2017 season, but the 49ers cut him when they traded for Jimmy Garoppolo.
- The Patriots, who needed a backup with Garoppolo gone, brought Hoyer back for stint No. 2 and kept him through the 2018 season. He won a Super Bowl ring backing up Tom Brady.
- He signed as a free agent with the Indianapolis Colts in 2019.
- He returned to New England in 2020 where he’s been ever since, backing up Cam Newton (2020) and Mac Jones (2021-22).
How much of that do his teammates know? On Friday, I asked several of them how many of the teams that Hoyer played at least one game for they could name.
First up: Kendrick Bourne, Hoyer’s wide receiver and locker neighbor.
“He was with me on one team,” Hoyer interjected before Bourne got started.
“San Francisco,” Bourne said, smiling at his former 49ers teammate. “Cleveland. Patriots.”
Bourne paused. “Houston?”
Then came surrender. “That’s all I got.”
Devin McCourty has been Hoyer’s teammate during all three of the QB’s stints in Foxborough. He started fast and confidently.
“Cleveland. Houston. Here (New England). San Fran. (pause). Oh, Indy.”
After that McCourty was stuck.
“What are the last two?”
When the answers were revealed, he nodded.
“I forgot about the Bears. I wouldn’t have guessed Arizona.”
David Andrews said he only had time for a quick question, but the competitor inside him couldn’t resist and he hung around longer than he planned. He got six, to beat McCourty, but couldn’t kick the extra point.
“Cleveland. Houston. San Francisco. Here (New England). There’s seven?” Andrews said. “Uh... I said San Fran right? Chicago! I remember we practiced against them. I’m at five? Colts.”
At this point Matthew Judon came over to help, guessing “Jacksonville?” and “Lions?”
Andrews was still searching for the right answer but knew Judon’s guesses were wrong. He told him so and started thinking out loud. “Not Miami. I said here, right?”
Judon asked to see the answer and tried to give a hint. “We had an argument about a guy from this team.”
Andrews shook him off. “We have a lot of arguments.”
Hoyer walked past, amused. “Need help? I made my first start with this team. NFC West.”
That didn’t help.
“Rams?” Andrews said as Hoyer shook his head.
Andrews settled for six, which put him temporarily atop the leaderboard.
Further down in the locker room, Matthew Slater sat up straighter, ready to take on the challenge when he learned the riddle had so far been unsolved. As the only player on the team whose career precedes Hoyer’s first Patriots stint, Slater was eager to play.
“OK. Here. San Francisco. Chicago. Cleveland. Houston,” he began and then nailed the hard one. “Arizona? Hmmm. I know this is going to be obvious. Did I say San Francisco?”
If Slater had been a cartoon, a light bulb would have appeared above his head as No. 7 hit him. “Oh, Colts. There it is.”
Long snapper Joe Cardona was confident too. In fact, he said knowing the number of teams was an unnecessary advantage. He ripped off five quickly and then hit a wall.
“That’s disappointing. I thought I’d get it.”
He needed a hint for the Colts, then guessed Arizona.
Upon learning that Slater had got seven, Hoyer objected.
“There’s eight,” he said and began telling a story.
Hoyer actually dressed for two games with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but never took the field in black and yellow and therefore has no stats. They waived him to gain a roster spot. He drove to his home in Ohio expecting Pittsburgh to re-sign him when he cleared waivers. But he didn’t clear waivers. Arizona claimed him and made him the starter two weeks later.
Hoyer gave all of his Steelers gear to his father-in-law, who is a lifelong fan. He framed the Cardinals jersey for his first start and the Browns jersey he wore in his first win.
Most of the rest of his helmets, jerseys and other assorted mementos are in a storage unit.
There likely won’t be much more new stuff acquired beyond his Patriots gear. Hoyer plans to live in New England after he retires, and he’s hinted that’s not far off. He’ll figure out what to do with his acquired gear then.
“There might be a sale,” he said. “I have too much stuff.”
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