FOXBORO, Mass. — Brian Hoyer and Tom Brady are reunited, and it feels so good.
Hoyer, who re-signed with the Patriots to be Brady’s backup quarterback Wednesday, met with the New England media for the first time since returning Monday. Hoyer inevitably was asked about how Brady has changed since he last was on the team in the summer of 2012.
“He just looks a little older, I think,” Hoyer joked. “He was one of the first guys I saw the other day and to see him, to be honest, wherever I’ve always been, he’s always been one of the first guys to congratulate me, or check in with me after an injury, whatever it might be. I’ve always kind of, come around Monday, you watch teams from around the league to try to get some ideas. Obviously I’m always watching New England, so I feel like I’ve been watching him ever since I left. To be honest, he hasn’t changed much. It’s great to be back with him and to be in a meeting room with him and just hear him talk football. It’s amazing.”
Hoyer certainly has changed more. He was a 26-year-old “kid” without any starting experience when the Patriots released him, and he’s since started 37 games and played on six different teams. Brady said he planned to pick Hoyer’s brain about some of the offenses he’s played in.
“You talk about, what’s the difference I’ve seen in Tom, I think the difference for me is I’m in more of a similar life stage that he is in,” Hoyer said. “When I was here, I was just a kid. I’ve been in a lot of different systems and you take a lot from those places. A lot of places I’ve been, they do things really well, so to talk to him and talk about things that I’ve done that maybe he’s seen that he liked. That’s the great thing about this offense, is you can kind of incorporate a lot of different stuff. I’m more than willing to give any type of insight he’s looking for, and I think if anything, like we talked about, when I was here last time, I hadn’t really played. So to come back with that playing experience, I think he’s seen that, that I’ve had some success over the years and can always be there to give an extra opinion on something.”
Hoyer only wound up back in New England because Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was traded to the San Francisco 49ers. Hoyer was expendable, so the 49ers cut him, and he signed back with the Patriots despite other offers. There seems to be no bad blood between Hoyer and the 49ers.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for (Garoppolo),” Hoyer said. “Obviously, I know when I left here, you’re always looking for that opportunity to go out and be a starting quarterback somewhere, so for me, I have a ton of respect for Kyle Shanahan and what he does. I think we don’t know when he’ll play. He may not know. But obviously he showed what he was capable of when he had his opportunities, and I think Kyle will get him in the right system and get him going. I think it’s just like anything. You wait for that opportunity and then try to take advantage of it.”
Thumbnail photo via Ron Schwane/USA TODAY Sports Images
