Backup quarterback Brian Hoyer, 37, is expected to be released by the Patriots. Doug Murray/Associated Press
The Patriots are expected to release veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer, a source confirmed to the Boston Herald.
Hoyer, who has had three different stints with the Patriots, started one game in 2022, that coming Week 4 against the Packers in Green Bay.
He started in the absence of starter Mac Jones, who suffered a high ankle sprain the previous week. Hoyer’s start, however, was short-lived as he was knocked out of the game with a concussion during the Patriots second offensive series.
He was put on injured reserve and remained there all season.
The release of Hoyer, which is expected to come prior to the start of free agency on March 15, would leave Jones and 2022 fourth-round pick Bailey Zappe as the only quarterbacks on the roster. The Patriots will likely add a third before the start of training camp.
The 37-year old had one year remaining on the two-year, $4 million deal he signed last March, which included $1.4 million in guaranteed money for 2023.
Speaking with him at his locker in January following the end of the season, Hoyer had said he was looking forward to coming back for this upcoming season.
“I wish I would have stayed healthy and been able to play that time while Mac was out,” said Hoyer. “I don’t want my last year to be spent like that. So I’m looking forward to thankfully having another year on my contract, and coming back and playing, and trying to help us win any way possible.”
Hoyer entered the NFL with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He’s started 40 career games for seven different NFL teams. That includes two starts with the Patriots.
COMBINE: Bryce Young provided one answer Saturday at the NFL’s annual scouting combine: He stands 5-foot-10 1/8 inches and weighs 204 pounds.
Next question: Will his small stature hurt his draft stock?
Team scouts and decision-makers now have nearly eight weeks to debate whether to make Young the first quarterback – or the first player – selected in the April draft. Typically, teams want their franchise quarterbacks to be several inches taller and perhaps a little heavier to avoid injuries. Instead, Young would be one of the league’s smallest quarterbacks.
He doesn’t believe it’s a big deal.
“I’ve been this size my whole life. I know who I am, I know what I can do,” Young said Friday when asked about the size issue.
The 2021 Heisman Trophy winner from Alabama has all the other prototypical tools that franchises seek – strong arm, quick release, good accuracy, mobility and a knack for making big plays, even on the move.
The closest comparisons might be to Kyler Murray, whom Arizona took with the top overall pick in 2019, and Russell Wilson, a third-round pick in 2012 who led Seattle to its only Super Bowl title before landing in Denver last season.
And while the quarterbacks, tight ends and receivers were scheduled to do their on-field drills Saturday in Indianapolis, Young had said he wouldn’t join them. The next time scouts will see Young will be at Alabama’s scheduled pro day.
COWBOYS: Dallas hopes to add a veteran impact free agent at wide receiver and three-time Pro Bowler Odell Beckham remains high on their radar, per owner Jerry Jones.
Beckham has not played since Super Bowl LVI with the Los Angeles Rams following the 2021 season due to a torn ACL. The Cowboys pursued him in December with hopes of adding him to the roster for a playoff but he was not yet healthy. Beckham says he is ready to go and the Cowboys have him back on their radar as a prime free agent addition.
The Cowboys have not yet made direct contact with Beckham, who can sign with any team at any time, but Jones said his interest in the former LSU star is just as high as ever, if not more so due to a conversation he had with his mother during this past Super Bowl.
“I have not communicated to him directly, but indirectly two or three times,” Jones said. “I did have a very impressive (conversation) with the most important one in this whole proposition. That’s his mother and we had a great visit there at the NFL Honors. It was really easy for me to see where Odell got a lot of his plusses.
“She was very impressive and she was great athlete. You can see where he gets a lot of the things he has. I really felt like I got to know him in our conversation. We had we had a lot of lengthy talks.”
Jones said he has the same kind of interest in Beckham now “that I had in during the season.”
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