Houston Texans pick Brian Hoyer as their Week 1 starting quarterback
Brian Hoyer came off the bench in the Houston Texans’ second preseason game, had a mediocre night of 7-of-11 for 52 yards, and that was enough to win the starting quarterback job.
Such is the state of the Texans’ quarterback position these days.
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Multiple reports said the Texans have picked Hoyer to start Week 1. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that news first. Hoyer wins the job over Ryan Mallett, who got the start in last week’s preseason game and went 5-of-7 for 23 yards against the Denver Broncos. None of the three quarterbacks Houston used led the team to a touchdown.
Hoyer was the Cleveland Browns’ primary starter last season, then signed with the Texans for two years and $10.5 million. He’s a mediocre option. He started 13 games last year, had 3,326 yards, 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions (and once had NFL Network’s Deion Sanders say he deserved a $100 million contract).
He was still a better option, apparently, than Mallett, who has a strong arm but little track record of success. Coincidentally, Mallett and Hoyer both became overrated a few years ago by virtue of simply being Tom Brady’s backup. Neither one has developed into a top-flight starting quarterback.
The Texans naming Hoyer the starter with no other great option on the roster leads back to the failure of the 2014 draft. The Texans didn’t select Blake Bortles early. They didn’t trade back for Johnny Manziel (which may turn out to be correct). They let Minnesota jump one pick ahead of them via trade and take Teddy Bridgewater at the end of the first round. Then they selected UCLA guard Xavier Su’a-Filo, who started one game as a rookie, over Derek Carr. Now they’ll start Hoyer on opening day of the regular season.
Texans coach Bill O’Brien did well last year to get the most of out the offensive talent he had, and he’ll have to work some magic again, because the Texans will go into another season without an exciting option at quarterback.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
