Broncos Could Target Former Super Bowl Champion as Backup QB?

The Denver Broncos have one healthy quarterback on their 53-man roster.

Following final roster cutdowns on Saturday afternoon, the Broncos feature just one healthy quarterback on their roster — starting quarterback Joe Flacco. That would be because the Broncos decided to move on from two of their healthy backup quarterbacks, Kevin Hogan and Brett Rypien, by cutting both quarterbacks.

With Drew Lock due to be placed on short-term injured reserve due to a thumb injury, the Broncos have a dire need for a backup quarterback — and according to Mike Klis of 9News, one option that makes sense is former New England Patriots backup quarterback Brian Hoyer.

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Brian Hoyer Has Big-Time Starting Experience

Hoyer is best known for his time spent as Tom Brady‘s backup, winning a Super Bowl with the Patriots last season. He had spent the past two years as New England’s primary backup quarterback before his surprising release on Saturday. The Patriots opted to go with rookie quarterback Jarrett Stidham as Brady’s backup for the 2019 season.

Klis obviously connects the dots here due to Hoyer’s familiarity with offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello’s offensive system. Furthermore, Hoyer is a part of the Kyle Shanahan offensive tree, having started 22 games under Shanahan during the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

Although Hoyer had seen minimal playing time over the past two seasons as Brady’s backup, he doesn’t lack experience as a starter. The 33-year-old veteran started 37 games during his run as a starting QB for the Houston Texans, Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers from 2014 through 2017.

Not to mention that he also served as the Texans’ starting quarterback when they made the postseason in 2015.

He may be just 16-21 as a starter in this league, but the Broncos aren’t expecting a Pro Bowl quarterback — they just want a competent quarterback who knows what he’s doing to back up Flaco while Lock recovers from his injury.

Considering we’re a week away from the season opener, it only makes sense for the Broncos to sign somebody familiar with the offensive system and the nuances — not a new guy who isn’t familiar at all with Scangarello’s system.

Hoyer obviously fits the mold of what the Broncos are looking for at this point.

Broncos Move on From Kevin Hogan

Kevin Hogan had all of the opportunities in the world.

With second-round draft pick Drew Lock sidelined for the last two preseason games due to a thumb injury, the veteran Hogan had a chance to lock up the backup job behind Hogan — and he failed.

Just hours before the roster cutdown deadline, the Broncos made it official — they cut the 26-year-old quarterback.

Hogan expressed disappointment in the decision.

“Tough day,” he told Klis. “Just unfortunate but I felt like I had a great camp. Felt like I caught some bad breaks in the preseason but I’m extremely optimistic that I’m not done playing.”

Hogan was absolutely dreadful in appearances against the 49ers and Los Angeles Rams, completing just 13-of-27 passes while throwing for just 109 yards (4.0 yards per attempt) and zero touchdowns. He also led just one touchdown drive in those two games before concluding his preseason effort by going 12-of-23 for one touchdown and two interceptions against the Arizona Cardinals‘ practice squad defense in the finale.

In other words, he failed to cement his hold on the backup job with opportunities spread across the last three games.

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