Chicago Bears: What’s the Deal with Brian Hoyer?
Immediately after the 2016 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears addressed their depth at quarterback by signing Brian Hoyer to a one-year, $2 million deal. Early in July, Chicago claimed Connor Shaw off waivers. After these two moves were made by general manager Ryan Pace, I quickly expressed my opinion saying that the Bears had some solid backups to starting quarterback Jay Cutler. Now, I’m not too confident.
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After seeing Hoyer in action in Chicago’s first two preseason games, things aren’t looking promising in the event that Cutler goes down with an injury during the regular season. Hoyer has thus far completed 11 of 24 passes for 166 yards for zero touchdowns and two interceptions. In these two games, Hoyer’s QB rating is a measly 34.4, compared to his career QB rating of 82.2. Maybe the eight-year veteran is still feeling the effects of the horrific, four-interception playoff outing he had while playing for the Houston Texans last season. Well, whatever the reason, Hoyer needs to get things in order quickly, or he may find himself lower than he expected on the Bears’ depth chart.
On the other hand, Shaw hasn’t had as much playing time as Hoyer in the preseason, but the touchdown drive that he led in the final minutes last week against the New England Patriots easily outshines the numbers Hoyer has put up. Heading into the Week 3 preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Cutler should get the majority of the playing time, which will leave Hoyer with the remainder of the game (and the final preseason game) to redeem himself and prove that he should be the team’s second-string QB.
Originally, seeing that Hoyer and offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains had a history while with the Cleveland Browns, I thought that this transition would have been an easy one for Hoyer. Obviously, I misinterpreted that. If things don’t improve, then we could possibly see Hoyer as the third-string signal caller. Or dare I say, Hoyer could be cut, and David Fales will be given another chance to stay in the Windy City for one more year.