5 times the Houston Texans thought they had a franchise quarterback
By Randy Gurzi
4. Brian Hoyer
While Keenum was believed to have potential by the fans but not the coaching staff, our next franchise quarterback hopeful was the exact opposite.
After going 9-7 in 2014 with four different players under center, the Texans brass zeroed in on journeyman Brian Hoyer in free agency, despite the fact that Hoyer had never been any good in the NFL.
They traded pretty much every quarterback they had for seventh round picks, and brought Hoyer in. The fans were upset by the signing, but O’Brien believed his trust in Hoyer from their days together in New England would be enough to suddenly make Hoyer a capable starter in the NFL.
As fate would have it, Hoyer’s first ever pass as a Texans’ starter went directly to the wrong team. He was pulled in the third quarter of that game and lost his starting job in less than 45 minutes of NFL action.
He was able to get himself back into the starting lineup later on in the season and played better despite never being more than a game manager. Hoyer finished 2015 with 2,606 yards, 19 touchdowns and just seven interceptions.
Then came the team’s playoff game where Hoyer remembered who he was and threw four interceptions as the team was run off the field by the Kansas City Chiefs. Even the biggest Hoyer fan (Bill O’Brien) could no longer defend the player, and he was cut following the signing of Osweiler.
Next: No. 3