Brian Hoyer was once a rookie quarterback for the New England Patriots, albeit an undrafted one, and has seen other first-year passers come through Foxboro during his time here.
Asked about the latest in the pipeline, 2021 first-round pick Mac Jones, Hoyer told Lou Merloni and Christian Fauria on WEEI Monday that not many rookie quarterbacks have ever gotten the reps and the opportunities Jones has this training camp, and that he's embraced it full-on, head-on.
"He goes out there every day and does the best that he can, and has earned the respect of his teammates, which I think is huge," Hoyer said. "Especially being a young guy on a team with a lot of veteran guys who have played here, he's earned that respect by his preparation and play."
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Curran: Mac Jones earned Pats' starting QB job, but will he get it?
Reading into Hoyer's appearance as a means of Bill Belichick tipping his hand over New England's Week 1 starter? Hoyer appeared on the WEEI program a week after Jones made his debut on the show, which came while Cam Newton was away from the team for five days due to a 'misunderstanding' of COVID-19 protocol.
While Belichick waits to formally announce a starter, Jones has been one of the top quarterbacks in the league in the preseason -- including the top rookie passer, according to Pro Football Focus.
Whether the time for Jones to start is Week 1, later in the season or beyond, Hoyer believes that Jones has done a great job of going out and executing with players who've been in Foxboro far longer than he has.
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"Look, as we all say, there's a long way to go -- we're just at the end of training camp. We're not even into the regular season," Hoyer said. "So it's always a work in progress, and you want to keep building and building and building. And I would say for him, he's done a good job of that."