Brian Hoyer’s time with the Houston Texans is officially done.
Hoyer will be released and a free agent on Monday, according to Houston Chronicle beat writer Aaron Wilson, ending his one year of his up-and-down career in Houston. The writing was on the wall when the Texans not only signed a big-time free agent quarterback in Brock Osweiler, but also decided to bring back Brandon Weeden as his backup.
Hoyer should find a new home rather quickly with teams like Denver and the New York Jets looking for a serviceable quarterback and others like Pittsburgh looking for a backup.
Hoyer came to Houston from Cleveland to battle with Ryan Mallett for the starting job in 2015, and had the edge thanks to working with Bill O’Brien when both were with the New England Patriots. Hoyer did win the job, but mostly thanks to Mallett’s inability to set an alarm clock.
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Hoyer started the 2015 opener against the Chiefs, but his first pass attempt of the game was picked off, and was later benched for Mallett. O’Brien kept the musical chairs game going until Week 7, when Mallet missed the team flight to Miami and was later released.
Hoyer also battled a pair of concussions, including one that forced him to miss a few games late in the season. But when healthy, he was decent, completing 60 percent of his passes with 16 touchdowns and only seven interceptions to lead the Texans to a 9-7 record and the AFC South Division crown. He wasn’t good, he wasn’t horrible, he was serviceable. That’s the highest praise that can be bestowed upon him.
But realistically, a lot of Texans fans will point to Hoyer’s nightmare performance against Kansas City in the playoffs as the real memory of Brian Hoyer. His awful 15-of-34, four-interception performance in a 30-0 loss showed the Texans that he is not the future of this team.
Hoyer should not be judged just by one game, but in this business, you are judged mostly by your last game. He will get offers from other clubs to be either a backup or the guy that starts a few games before the star rookie is ready to go.
But as a Texan, there were good memories of Hoyer leading Houston to a division championship. It’s just too bad his last game here will be the reason most fans will roll their eyes when he is brought up.
Thanks for the good… and bad memories, Brian. Good luck to ya.