Neither the Broncos nor the Jets talked contract with free agent quarterback Brian Hoyer during their respective visits, sources tell Mike Klis of 9NEWS. Denver, per Klis, is inclined to wait until after the draft to find a new signal-caller, a concept that Jason Cole of Bleacher Report confirms (video link), saying that GM John Elway won’t overpay for a “mediocre” quarterback.
Hoyer, meanwhile, could very well be off the market by the time the Broncos are ready to make a decision at QB. Hoyer now has at least six teams interested in him, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets.
Let’s take a look at some other interesting quarterback situations around the NFL…
- The Jets and Broncos should call the Eagles about Sam Bradford, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk opines. With Bradford’s $11MM signing bonus already earned, another team could theoretically trade for the QB and pay him $24MM on a two-year deal with just $7MM in 2016. That $7MM salary is the same amount as what Denver wants to pay Kaepernick and the same sum the Jets want to give to Ryan Fitzpatrick. Of course, the Eagles might not be thrilled about the idea of trading Bradford after having picked up a significant portion of the check on him.
- While Bradford is a good guy, the fact that two teams he has played for have made massive trades to take a top two quarterback is not a resume builder, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report tweets. Cole reported earlier tonight that Bradford may ask for a trade from the Eagles.
- The Eagles’ trade for the No. 2 pick is a reminder that Washington has been wise to seek quarterback help in the past even when they seemed set at the position, John Keim of ESPN.com writes. In 2012, Washington drafted Kirk Cousins even though they appeared to have a future star in RGIII. Even though Cousins is installed as the starter now, Keim believes that Washington should get some insurance by drafting developmental QB.
- The Eagles/Browns trade could have a trickle-down effect on the Jets‘ quarterback plans, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com writes. Cimini believes that the Jets were previously interested in making a move for one of the top quarterbacks and using Muhammad Wilkerson as trade bait, but the cost of moving from No. 20 to No. 2 was unrealistic. The Jets could now miss out on the draft’s third-best quarterback prospect in Paxton Lynch since the Browns could target him at No. 8. The Jets could turn to the next tier of QBs including Michigan State’s Connor Cook and Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg and Cimini hears that Gang Green likes Hackenberg. Meanwhile, the Jets allowed Hoyer to leave his visit without a deal and the team could be putting themselves in jeopardy if they don’t retain Fitzpatrick.
- Pat McManamon of ESPN.com didn’t like the trade down for the Browns because the Browns’ wait for a franchise quarterback continues to drag on. The team is staying true to analytics by trading down, but McManamon argues that even an exceptionally talented team will hit a ceiling without a competent QB. McManamon sees RGIII as the biggest winner of the trade since Cleveland is now putting more faith in him than any other team in the league would.
- A formal indictment in free agent Johnny Manziel’s domestic violence case will be handed down on Monday, reports Jennifer Emily of the Dallas Morning News, who writes that Manziel is likely to face a criminal charge.
Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.
The Browns have close to no talent (outside of Joe Thomas) on offense. Drafting a rookie QB and expecting him to start Day 1 when they have no receivers, running backs, offensive line, or barely a defense is a good way to ensure the Browns are stuck with another mediocre QB.