The New England Patriots released backup quarterback Brian Hoyer rather than trading him Saturday during cutdowns. After Hoyer signed a three-year deal worth $12 million with the Indianapolis Colts on Monday, this apparently became a controversial decision over Labor Day Weekend.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was asked during a Tuesday conference call why the Patriots didn’t trade Hoyer.
“I think there were a lot of things involved in that situation,” Belichick said. “That would be a longer conversation. We did what we did. We’ll stand by that.”
First, the Patriots reportedly were considering bringing Hoyer back after releasing him in a somewhat similar situation to what occurred Saturday when they released wide receiver Demaryius Thomas then re-signed him Monday.
Second, there is no proven trade market for a 30-plus-year-old backup quarterback who is being traded to be a reserve with his new team. The closest instance we found was in 2010 when the Minnesota Vikings traded quarterback Sage Rosenfels and wide receiver Darius Reynaud for a seventh-round pick.
Other older backup QBs that were traded, including Ryan Fitzpatrick in 2016, Matt Cassel in 2015, Matt Schaub in 2014 and Donovan McNabb in 2011, were dealt in the spring or summer and garnered late-round compensation. All of those players also were going to be competing for starting jobs with their new teams. Jacoby Brissett is the Colts’ starting quarterback, a notion reinforced by him reportedly signing a two-year, $30 million contract extension Monday.
There’s also the fact that in Hoyer’s 10-year career through nine different stops, he’s never once been traded, and he’s been cut six times. He signed a team-friendly deal to be Tom Brady’s backup in 2017, and it would have been a tough look to then take Hoyer on that Patriots-friendly deal and ship him off to a new team without his permission. Hoyer made bank by being cut.
Even if the Patriots were able to trade Hoyer, it likely would have been for a sixth- or seventh-round pick. If the Patriots traded him, they clearly would not have been able to bring him back. So, they took a risk and released him, and Hoyer received an offer he couldn’t refuse from the Colts, who had no reason to give up any draft compensation when they knew Hoyer would otherwise be released.
The Patriots maybe, possibly, could have received a late-round pick. They didn’t.
