When New York Jets GM Joe Douglas all but announced his plans to take a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick -- presumably BYU's Zach Wilson -- he also suggested Gang Green was comfortable with youngsters James Morgan and Mike White as backup signal-callers.
The comment at the moment seemed like Douglas was posturing, the GM equivalent of a pump fake. Surely the Jets wouldn't go into the season without a grizzled veteran to buffer, aid and teach their rookie QB the ropes and realities of being an NFL signal-caller.
Days later, Douglas is checking out the veteran QB market.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Thursday morning that former Patriots QB Brian Hoyer is set to visit the Jets, per a source informed of the situation.
The 35-year-old journeyman spent last season with New England, starting one game behind Cam Newton. After going undrafted out of Michigan State in 2009, Hoyer began his career in a QB room with Tom Brady for three seasons before beginning his nomadic journey around the NFL, which included stops in Arizona, Cleveland, Houston, Chicago, San Francisco, Indianapolis, and multiple returns to New England in between.
Over the course of his 12 seasons, Hoyer has started 39 games. The most came between 2014 and 2015 when he started 13 games with Cleveland and nine with Houston, respectively.
At this point of his career, Hoyer is a classic film-room mentor QB who has the experience to help a young player learn the ropes and has played in enough offenses he can quickly dive into a new playbook and decipher it. He's closer to a coach in the QB room.
With all the Jets' eggs in the basket of a rookie QB -- again, presumably Wilson -- Hoyer would represent a bridge between offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur and the young signal-caller. It's also notable that Hoyer was in Cleveland when LaFleur was an offensive intern (2014) and in San Francisco (2017) when he was the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach. Hoyer's six-game starting stint with the 49ers that year was the last time the QB was more than a spot starter.
