Brian Hoyer has been named the Houston Texans
starting quarterback, NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport has reported. Hoyer had
been battling with Ryan Mallett for the QB job throughout training camp.
The Texans inked Hoyer to a two-year, $10.5 million
deal this past offseason. The 29-year-old started the Texans’ preseason opener against
the San Francisco 49ers while Mallett started Saturday's game versus the Denver
Broncos. Mallett finished Saturday’s contest with a 75.3 passer rating, failing
to make his case to overtake Hoyer for the starting gig.
Hoyer posts a 10-7 career record as a starting
quarterback. Spending the past two seasons with the Cleveland Browns, he won 10
of his 16 starts. He is the first Browns quarterback to post a winning record
since Vinny Testaverde—who played with Cleveland from 1993-95—and the only to
do so since the franchise was revived in 1999. Hoyer led the Browns to a 7-4
start last season, before losing his job to rookie Johnny Manziel in Week
15. In 13 starts and 14 appearances overall last season, Hoyer threw for 3,326
yards and 12 touchdowns with 13 interceptions.
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| Brian Hoyer will be under center for the Houston Texans when the 2015 season kicks off. (Andrew J. Phillip/AP) |
Handing the quarterback duties to Hoyer, a seven-year
pro, was a logical move by head coach Bill O’Brien. Mallett, a third-round
draft selection in 2011, has made just two starts in his career. The Texans made the correct choice in settling the quarterback battle with Hoyer holding an edge in experience, consistency and decision-making, and throwing less practice interceptions than Mallett. Hoyer gelled
with the Texans starters in the first preseason contest. He threw a 58-yard
touchdown pass to Cecil Shorts III on Houston's first drive and also connected
with DeAndre Hopkins for a 2-point conversion to give the Texans an 8-0 lead in
an eventual 23-10 victory.
The statistics for Hoyer last season—32nd (out
of 33 qualified QB’s) in completion percentage (55.3) and 30th in QBR
(39.8)—were not pretty but the veteran QB was able to record more wins (7) than
losses (6), something no quarterback has done for roughly two decades for the once-proud but now woebegone Browns franchise. Hoyer spearheaded the Browns to the
greatest road comeback in NFL history against the Tennessee Titans in Week 5 a season ago.
He also garnered immense praise last year from former teammate Joe Thomas, one of the most dominant
and respected left tackles in league history.
"He's
[Hoyer] a lot like Tom Brady," Thomas told The Cleveland Plain Dealer last
year. "When you look at the way he competes and the way he demands the
most out of everybody around him, it's no coincidence that those guys played
together. (Hoyer) has a lot of those same mental attributes and that's a great
thing for a quarterback to have."
With Hoyer under center, the Texans will look to make
the postseason for the first time since 2012.
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