Tennessee Titans: Brian Hoyer Should Get A Look
By Les Bailey
Let’s face the facts! The Tennessee Titans need another quarterback, and they need one good enough who can put some real pressure on Zach Mettenberger, and hopefully challenge for the starting job if indeed Head Coach, Ken Whisenhunt, and General Manager, Ruston Webster hold with the present game-plan.
I think that guy is Brian Hoyer from the Cleveland Browns, and here’s why.
The Titans insist they want to see more of their first-year quarterback out of LSU, and on the surface have said that although they will evaluate Florida State’s Jameis Winston, and Oregon’s Marcus Mariota, they want to see more of Zach Mettenberger.
Unless the Titan staff have a blockbuster deal on the table that would bring another quarterback to Nashville on draft day, they will need to get one through free agency, which begins on Tuesday.
As luck would have it(no, Andrew Luck is not on the Free Agency list), Gregg Rosenthal, and Chris Wesseling from NFL.com have ranked their Top 101 Free Agency list, and more importantly, the top five quarterbacks on the market.
The top-ranked quarterback on Rosenthal’s list in order are:
- Jake Locker
- Brian Hoyer
- Mark Sanchez
- Ryan Mallett
- Matt Moore
Matt Moore and Ryan Mallett are at best, backup quarterbacks, and do you want someone who can compete with Zach, or do you want someone who is happy being the number two guy?
In Music City, unless the Titans do something spectacular with the offensive line, either in the draft, or in free agency, the backup quarterback will be much like the Vice President of the United States, one busted play away from a starting job.
We watched Mark Sanchez play pretty well in Chip Kelly’s offense, and if that is the game-plan in Nashville, why don’t we go ahead and draft Marcus Mariota?
He had moments of brilliance in New York with Rex Ryan’s “ground and pound” but really didn’t fit. He was asked to hand the ball off, and when he had to sit in the pocket, he made a lot of mistakes, and threw a lot of interceptions.
If the Titans were interested in Jake Locker, and valued him as highly as Gregg Rosenthal, he would not be on the free agency list.
That leaves Cleveland Brown quarterback Brian Hoyer.
I for one, thought the Cleveland Browns screwed Brian Hoyer last year when they gave up on him, and brought in Johnny Football at the end of the season.
In fact, I thought it was stupid, and although Hoyer had fallen into a mid-season slump, he was their best option to make the playoffs. Just another reason why the Browns continue to escape any success.
Hoyer ended the 2014 season with a 76.5 QBR. He was 248 for 438 passing at 55.3% with 3,326 yards, and 12 touchdowns. He threw 13 interceptions.
The only two games where he had multiple interceptions, were three against the Titans in week four, and two against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week eight. He won both games however.
On Tuesday, he told USA Today’s Jim Corbett on Thursday he’s looking forward to a new chance on the open market.
Hoyer was quoted in Kevin Patra’s column on NFL.com:
"“It’s good for both sides to get a fresh start and go our separate ways,” Hoyer said. “Being from here, I’ll always root for theBrowns. I know I’m going to be continuing my football career somewhere.”Hoyer said he’s looking forward to free agency and not fretting on where he lands.“I look forward to helping whatever team get better and go to the playoffs,” Hoyer said. “If you’re in the right situation, believe in yourself, nothing will hold you back.”"
In Around The NFL’s “Best Fits” series Gregg Rosenthal linked Hoyer to the Tennessee Titans as a possible destination where the quarterback could earn a chance to start.
Brian Hoyer is not a top-tier quarterback, but I think he could come to Music City and provide the type of challenge Zach Mettenberger needs at this stage of the process.
He played really well on a dysfunctional team in Cleveland, and things won’t be any different in Tennessee during the 2015 season. He was able to thrive in that environment, and I think he could do so again, this time in Titan Blue.
Next: Tennessee Titans Should Take a Hard Look At Vince Wilfork