Brian Hoyer Was Halloween Shopping When Jimmy Garoppolo Trade Went Down

FOXBORO, Mass. — Life can change in a hurry if you’re an NFL player. Just ask Brian Hoyer.

On the eve of the NFL trade deadline, the journeyman quarterback was out Halloween shopping in the Bay Area with his 5-year-old son, Garrett. Two days later, he was suiting up for his first New England Patriots practice in more than five years.

Hoyer landed back in New England last week after the Patriots traded Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers, who subsequently released Hoyer. Speaking to reporters Wednesday for the first time since the trade, the 32-year-old described how he received the news.

“The one thing I’ve learned about the NFL is never say never to anything,” Hoyer said. “It’s a business. There’s a business side of it. So you never know what might happen. When Kyle Shanahan called to tell me that this was going to happen on Monday, I was at the store buying my kid a Halloween costume. I was completely shocked that this happened.”

Hoyer’s NFL career now has come full circle. He got his start with the Patriots, who signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2009, then embarked on a five-year journey that included stops in six NFL cities before returning to Foxboro.

“I think that’s the one thing you learn — you never know how things are going to work out,” he said. “You hope that you leave a good impression wherever you are, and never burn a bridge. I guess that’s the biggest thing in this league.”

Oh, and that Halloween costume? They decided on a ninja.

“He had a grim reaper, but that wasn’t school-acceptable,” Hoyer said. “So we had to get something different.”

Thumbnail photo via Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports Images