Brian Hoyer had ESPN cameras in his family’s home for the 2009 NFL Draft, but he went undrafted.
He landed in New England, where he got some pretty good tutoring and saw a lot of winning before getting cut just before the start of the 2012 season. Hoyer was an emergency replacement -- and then quickly cut again -- with the Steelers and Cardinals. He signed with his hometown team, the Browns, and went from third-stringer to winning his first two starts before tearing his ACL in the third in 2013.
He led the Browns to more wins in 2014 before hitting the wall and getting caught in the Johnny Manziel Circus. He signed with the Texans, reunited with former position coach Bill O’Brien and won a training camp competition to be the starter.
That lasted not even one full game. But Hoyer was playing again a month later, endured two concussions during the season and Saturday starts a playoff game as the Texans host the Chiefs as reward for winning the AFC South after a 2-5 start.
“Crazy,” Hoyer told USA Today this week.
Fair assessment.
Hoyer brings a career starting record of 15-11 into his first playoff start. He’s 5-4 as the Texans’ starter this year but has completed 61 percent of his passes -- a career best for seasons in which he’s seen significant action -- and has thrown a career-best 19 touchdowns.
Hoyer admitted being angry with O’Brien about his early-season benching, but he’s had to wait on his turn before.
“I just had a feeling that at some point, it would come back to me,” Hoyer said. “And when it did, I had to be ready to go.”
