Brian Hoyer Visiting Broncos

After paying a visit to the Jets shortly after he officially hit the open market, quarterback Brian Hoyer will make his second visit this week, heading to Denver to meet with the Broncos, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. That meeting is scheduled to take place tomorrow, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).

Caplan, who suggests that the Jets remain interested in Hoyer, tweeted earlier today that he doesn’t expect it to take long for the veteran free agent to find a new home. According to Caplan, four or five teams are interested in Hoyer — in addition to the Jets and Broncos, we’ve heard the Steelers, Bears, and Cowboys mentioned as possible suitors, though it’s not clear if those are the specific clubs Caplan is referring to.

Hoyer, 30, made nine starts and appeared in 11 total games for the Texans in 2015, and enjoyed his best season as a pro. The Michigan State product completed more than 60% of his passes, throwing for 2,606 yards, 19 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions. Houston went 5-4 in his starts.

Despite Hoyer’s solid performance, he became expendable when the Texans went out and signed Brock Osweiler to a four-year, $72MM deal in free agency last month. With veteran backup Brandon Weeden also on the roster, and 2014 fourth-rounder Tom Savage in the mix as well, Houston opted against paying Hoyer a $4MM salary, plus per-game roster bonuses, releasing him instead.

With Osweiler in Houston, the Broncos have been on the lookout for quarterbacks for over a month. The team went out and acquired Mark Sanchez in a trade with the Eagles, but intends to add at least one more signal-caller to the mix to compete for the starting job with Sanchez and Trevor Siemian. Colin Kaepernick has frequently been cited as a potential trade target, and Ryan Fitzpatrick remains unsigned, but Hoyer figures to come much cheaper than both.

If either the Jets or Broncos ultimately signs Hoyer, it could push Fitzpatrick closer to signing a new contract of his own. The Broncos, in particular, would likely no longer have any interest in Fitzpatrick if they add Hoyer, which would increase the Jets’ leverage in contract talks with their 2015 starter.

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