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Brian Hoyer

Browns Notes: Hoyer, Manziel, Bortles

October 15th, 2014 at 6:34pm CST by Dallas Robinson

It’s safe to say the Browns are among the more surprising teams in the NFL — after a stunning 31-10 victory over the Steelers on Sunday, Cleveland sits at 3-2, good for third place in a competitive AFC North. According to Football Outsiders’ advanced metrics, the offense is the key to success for the Browns so far, as it ranks second in DVOA; the team’s defense lacks far behind, placing 29th in DVOA. Let’s take a look at a few notes out of Cleveland:

  • After Jason Cole of Bleacher Report stated in a video that quarterback Brian Hoyer wouldn’t be interested in an extension while Johnny Manziel was still on the roster, Hoyer decided to watch the video himself, and spoke out on the situation. “It couldn’t be further from the truth,” Hoyer told reporters, including Tony Grossi of ESPN.com. “There’s no accurate information in it. I’ve never talked to [Cole] in my life. From here on out, my main focus is Jacksonville. If you guys want to talk about that, you can talk to the guys upstairs or my agent…”
  • For his part, Cole claims that he confirmed the report with three members of the Browns organization (Twitter link via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer).
  • Meanwhile, Linta says he hasn’t discussed a new pact between Hoyer and the Browns since the spring, and he understands that management probably wants to see Hoyer continue to produce before offering him a fresh contract. “The ball is in their court,” Linta told Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. “We’re willing to wait until the end of the year to see how it plays out.” ESPN’s Ed Werder reported this afternoon that the club has “zero interest” in entering negotiations with Hoyer’s representatives.
  • The Browns, who had Manziel rated higher on their draft board, never intended to take Blake Bortles with the No. 4 overall pick, and was shocked when the Jaguars selected the Central Florida product with the third pick. “I think it surprised a lot of people that he went there,” head coach Mike Pettine told Cabot. “I think a lot of the league was surprised when you just kind of looked at the mocks and what was going on, and assessing who was going to take one. I thought they covered their tracks well. We knew that they liked him, thinking maybe, he could’ve potentially gone to them later in the draft, but he was a kid that was high on our board.”

North Notes: Bears, Hoyer, Jones, Bell

October 15th, 2014 at 1:30pm CST by Zachary Links

Field Yates of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req’d) reflected on the offseason’s top value signings. Bears defensive end Willie Young, signed to a three-year, $9MM deal, tops the list. Young has seven sacks so far, more than he had during the first four years of his career combined. One NFL coach told Yates that he’s quite impressed with Young’s improvement from last season to this season. “If you look at him from the Lions, he was a straight-line, situational rusher,” he said of Young. “Now he is not a straight-line rusher. Now he uses his hands and feet and has become a skilled pass-rusher.” More out of the AFC and NFC North..

  • While there’s been plenty of speculation about a potential contract extension for Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer, the team has displayed “zero” interest so far in negotiating a new deal for him, according to Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
  • Yesterday a foot specialist told Marvin Jones that he’ll require surgery on his balky ankle, which is why the Bengals decided to place the wideout on injured reserve, tweets Albert Breer of the NFL Network.
  • Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell waived his right to a preliminary hearing on marijuana possession and and DUI charges, writes Joe Mandak of The Associated Press. That means the 22-year-old won’t contest that police have enough evidence for the chargets to go to court, where he will either plead to all or some of the chargers or stand trial.
  • Terrelle Pryor worked out for the Bengals as a quarterback, so it would seem that he’s not entertaining a position change, tweets Rand Getlin of Yahoo Sports.
  • Sunday was a rough day for Vikings GM Rick Spielman‘s recent first-round picks, as Michael Rand of the Star-Tribune explains (video link).

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

AFC Notes: Burfict, Hoyer, Jets, Patriots

October 13th, 2014 at 10:14pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The NFL will review film of Sunday’s game between the Bengals and Panthers and look for evidence that Cincinnati linebacker Vontaze Burfict tried to intentionally injure Carolina players, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). As detailed by David Newton of ESPN.com earlier today, Panthers tight end Greg Olsen complained that Burfict is something of a head-hunter. “At some point, if the NFL wants to really say they care about guys’ safety, they’ve got to start putting guys out for weeks,” said Olsen. “Me and Cam (Newton) are lucky we aren’t out for weeks, or Kelvin (Benjamin) isn’t out for weeks. If you’re going to start putting guys on other teams out, then the ramifications need to equal that.” One play that will probably be analyzed can be viewed here. For his part, Burfict suffered another concussion on Sunday, so he will probably be out of action for some time, regardless of any disciplinary action.

Let’s close out the night with more from the AFC:

  •  In response to speculation that Brian Hoyer wouldn’t be interested in an extension with the Browns unless Johnny Manziel was no longer on the roster, Hoyer’s agent, Joe Linta, told Jeff Schudel of the News-Herald: “No talks at this time, and Johnny Manziel’s presence will have no impact on any talks that we might have.”
  • Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap looks at some questions Jets owner Woody Johnson might be facing this offseason, including whether John Idzik and Rex Ryan are the right men for their respective jobs. It’s fair to assume something of an overhaul will occur in New York once the season concludes, and Fitzgerald’s piece raises some valid points.
  • More Jets: In the wake of several injuries sustained in yesterday’s contest, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com writes Phillip Adams and Darrin Walls will act as Gang Green’s starting corners going forward, while Oday Aboushi will make his first career start in place of Brian Winters at left guard.
  • Now that Stevan Ridley is out for the rest of the season, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe wonders (via Twitter) if Bill Belichick and the Patriots regret letting LeGarrette Blount walk in free agency. There’s obviously no way New England could have predicted the loss of Ridley, but Blount would fit in nicely as the power back in the Pats’ offense right now.
  • Despite investing nearly $30MM in their O-line this season, the Titans are in the middle of the pack in rushing and are 29th in sacks per pass play, writes Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com. While those are simple measures, they show that the Titans are getting the worst bang for their buck on the offensive line in the NFL. The Titans last two first-round picks (Taylor Lewan and Chance Warmack) were offensive linemen and Andy Levitre and Michael Oher were signed to significant free agent deals.
  • As our Luke Adams recently noted, Raiders cornerback D.J. Hayden is among the players on IR-DTR who can resume practicing this week. Per Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com (Twitter link), that’s the plan with Hayden, as Oakland head coach Tony Sparano says all systems are go for the second-year player.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

AFC Notes: Sparano, Patriots, Hoyer, Browns

October 13th, 2014 at 4:55pm CST by Zachary Links

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers sees big things ahead for Raiders rookie quarterback Derek Carr, writes Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego. “He played really well,” Rivers said. “He was efficient, making some checks, handling things at the line. He showed great poise. I don’t know him at all. He’s got a heck of a career if he keeps this up.” Even though Oakland came up short in their upset bid over San Diego, Raiders fans have to be happy with what they saw out of Carr yesterday. More from the AFC..

  • Raiders players have responded well to interim head coach Tony Sparano, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Despite Sunday’s final result, Sparano is clearly getting better play out of his team than predecessor Dennis Allen was.
  • Even with serious injuries to linebacker Jerod Mayo and running back Stevan Ridley, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) doesn’t expect the Patriots to make any roster moves today, even on a short week.
  • With that said, the Patriots auditioned five linebackers today, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter): Justin Anderson, Kaelin Burnett, Tim Dobbins, Mario Harvey, and Paul Hazel.
  • Pending free agent Brian Hoyer would like to stay with the Browns but he’s also being realistic as he looks ahead. “I’m from Cleveland and I want to be here…but [I’m] also a competitor. I want to be somewhere where I’m playing,” the quarterback said, according to Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer (via Twitter).
  • Browns head coach Mike Pettine is hopeful that center Alex Mack can return to the field in 2014 after undergoing surgery on his broken fibula, writes Pat McManamon of ESPN.com. If Mack has only a broken leg, it’ll be an 8-10 week absence. If it’s anything more, he’d be done for the year.
  • More bad news for the Browns. In addition to possibly losing Mack for the season, they learned that they’ll also be without defensive end Armonty Bryant, who has a torn ACL, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Bryant also has a partial MCL tear and will undergo surgery soon. Pettine told reporters today, including Jeff Schudel of The News-Herald (on Twitter), that a replacement for Bryant may be necessary. That’s not the case at center, however, where he feels he has in-house options to step in.

More On Hoyer’s Bright Future

October 12th, 2014 at 11:02am CST by Rory Parks

We learned earlier today from CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora that Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer, after his excellent start to 2014, is quickly making a case for a big-money, long-term deal. Former agent Joel Corry added that, even if the two sides cannot hammer out a multi-year contract, Hoyer could soon be in for a big payday, as Cleveland has enough cap room to put the roughly $18MM franchise tag on Hoyer for the 2015 season.

La Canfora and Corry, however, are not the only ones contemplating Hoyer’s prospects today. Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal writes that Hoyer could take yet another step to securing his place in the league, and his bright financial future, with a strong showing against the hated Steelers this afternoon. Although the Browns have gotten off to an 0-2 start in the AFC North, their earlier losses against the Steelers and Ravens were close and highly competitive affairs, a silver lining for a team that has been on the wrong end of too many blowouts in recent history.

Hoyer is 5-2 in his career as the Browns starter under center, and through four games this season he has completed 62.1% of his passes for 1,007 yards, six TDs, and one interception, which all adds up to a 97.6 quarterback rating. With each passing week, he looks more and more like the quarterback solution that the Browns have sought for so long.

Even rival beat writers are jumping on the Hoyer bandwagon. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post Post-Gazette writes that, after spending two years holding a clipboard for Tom Brady in New England and spending this offseason as a footnote to the Johnny Manziel hype, Hoyer has done what a good quarterback is supposed to do: elevate his supporting cast. In Hoyer’s case, that supporting cast is a rather uninspiring one. Although Cleveland’s running game has provided a solid foundation, the fact that Hoyer has performed so well this season with a banged-up Jordan Cameron and without Josh Gordon is especially impressive.

The fear that Hoyer, who was an unheralded and undrafted free agent when he entered the league, could turn into a pumpkin at any moment will be present for a long time, particularly among Cleveland fans. But as he continues to stack up excellent games, the wins are likely to follow, and that fear might slowly start to fade into something a little more akin to hope.

 

La Canfora’s Latest: Newton, Houston, Hoyer

October 12th, 2014 at 9:59am CST by Rory Parks

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports has a number of interesting notes this morning, including several pieces on possible contract extensions for big name stars. Let’s jump right in:

  • Although the Panthers have not talked with quarterback Cam Newton about a possible extension since this summer, and no such talks are imminent, La Canfora writes that Newton is not interested in a “pay as you go” contract like those signed by Colin Kaepernick and Andy Dalton. Joel Corry tweets that Newton’s agent, Bus Cook, will certainly not accept that type of deal for Newton given that he was able to procure $38MM in (virtually) guaranteed money for Jay Cutler.
  • La Canfora writes that the Chiefs would like to extend outside linebacker Justin Houston during the season, but unnamed sources indicate that is unlikely. After locking up quarterback Alex Smith long term, Kansas City wants to revisit negotiations with Houston, which went nowhere in the preseason. However, the two sides do not currently appear likely to bridge that preseason gap, and Houston could be slapped with the franchise tag next year, which would be worth about $13MM. Even with Kansas City’s ample cap room, Joel Corry tweets that the mega-deals signed by J.J. Watt and Robert Quinn did not make it any easier for the Chiefs to extend Houston.
  • La Canfora writes that the Browns have not yet begun contract talks with Brian Hoyer, but after his performance against the Titans last week, the time for locking him up at a reasonable rate may be running out. Joel Corry adds (via Twitter) that Cleveland may even consider an $18MM franchise tag for Hoyer for 2015, since the club has plenty of cap room to work with.
  • Although new Bills owner Terry Pegula is not planning any immediate changes to his front office, La Canfora writes that Pegula ultimately wants to “bring in an experienced football man” to oversee the team’s transition. Ernie Accorsi, Mike Holmgren, and Ron Wolf have all been named as possibilities. Pegula would also like to see an organizational restructure to separate the football side and business side of the club.
  • Many NFL owners, despite lauding commissioner Roger Goodell for his overall efforts, would like for him to allow others to handle disciplinary matters.
  • La Canfora has the the value of 2015 franchise tags for each position.

Poll: Who Will Be Browns’ Starting QB In 2015?

October 9th, 2014 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier this week, I examined Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer as a potential candidate for a contract extension. While there’s an expectation that Hoyer and the Browns will engage in discussions at some point, and could hammer out an agreement, it’ll be an extremely complicated negotiation based on the presence of 2014 first-rounder Johnny Manziel.

We’ve seen highly-touted young signal-callers sit on the bench for a year or two before – Aaron Rodgers backing up Brett Favre in Green Bay comes to mind – but in most of those cases, the starter has a more extensive track record than Hoyer does. Often, contracts will play a part as well — teams may be reluctant to part with a highly-paid starter whose release would result in a ton of dead money on the cap.

In the case of Hoyer though, the Browns could simply move on from him at the end of the 2014 season, allowing Manziel to take the reins after learning the system for a year. The former Texas A&M QB would be inexpensive for the remainder of his rookie contract, and would have the opportunity to lead a roster that has an increasing amount of talent on both sides of the ball.

On the other hand, Hoyer’s short stints this season and last season as the Browns’ starter have been impressive, and he’s proving to be the most capable quarterback the team has had in years. A Cleveland native, Hoyer could ultimately make more sense as the club’s long-term answer at the position if he continues to excel for the rest of 2014 and Manziel remains an unproven commodity on the bench.

So what do you think? Who will be the Browns’ quarterback in 2015? Will they re-sign Hoyer intending to start him? Will Manziel have taken over by then? Weigh in with your vote below, and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section as well.

Extension Candidate: Brian Hoyer

October 8th, 2014 at 9:43am CST by Luke Adams

It may seem like a lifetime ago now, but we’re only a few weeks removed from a time when the daily exploits of Johnny Manziel were consistently among the NFL’s hottest stories. Whether it was the rookie quarterback being spotted with a rolled-up dollar bill in Las Vegas or giving the middle finger to the Washington sideline during a preseason game, Manziel was making headlines all summer.Brian Hoyer

Five weeks into the regular season, Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Greg Hardy, and several other black eyes for the NFL likely have the league longing for the days when Manziel was its biggest newsmaker. But it’s not just those stories that have knocked the 22nd overall pick out of the news cycle. While many observers believed Manziel would’ve assumed the starting role in Cleveland by now, the former Heisman winner has only seen the field for the occasional gimmick play, having being otherwise sidelined by the strong play of veteran starter Brian Hoyer.

As Adam Caplan of ESPN.com noted this week (via Twitter), Hoyer’s agent Joe Linta and the Browns had just one conversation about the QB’s contract status prior to the season, following the draft. Although we heard at the time that the team had interest in extending Hoyer’s deal, Caplan says (via Twitter) that the two sides were far apart. However, the ESPN.com scribe believes that Hoyer’s play through Cleveland’s first four games will “eventually bring both sides together for an extension.”

Hoyer, who turns 29 next Monday, hasn’t exactly been maintaining a Peyton Manning-esque pace through his first four contests this season, but his numbers are very solid — the Michigan State product has completed 62.1% of his passes, is averaging more than 250 yards per game, and has thrown just one interception to go along with his six TD passes.

Most importantly, for a Cleveland team that was expected to occupy the cellar in the AFC North, Hoyer has engineered big wins over the Saints and Titans, leading fourth-quarter comebacks in both games. The Browns still face an uphill battle in a division that features the 3-1 Bengals, as well as the 3-2 Ravens and Steelers, but combined with his 3-0 record as a starter last season, Hoyer’s record so far this year shows that he’s capable of earning victories that many NFL starting QBs wouldn’t.

Assuming Hoyer’s strong play continues, an extension certainly seems within the realm of possibility. But there was a reason the two sides were far apart in the offseason, and there’s a reason that former Browns CEO Joe Banner refers to it as “one of the toughest contract decisions on both sides” that he has ever seen (Twitter link). With Manziel in the mix, it’s still not clear if Hoyer projects as Cleveland’s long-term starter, which is presumably how he’ll want to be paid. Knowing they have the inexpensive Manziel as a fall-back option, the Browns won’t be eager to break the bank for Hoyer, and an extension would mean risking having him turn into the NFL’s most overpaid backup.

The uncertainty about Hoyer’s long-term role is the primary reason why both sides may be inclined to keep extension discussions on hold for now, but it’s still worth examining what sort of figures Hoyer’s camp and the Browns might propose if negotiations take place during the season. The former Patriot will certainly be in line for a raise on 2014’s modest $1MM base salary, but by how much?

One point of comparison for the Browns may be Kyle Orton‘s two-year, $11MM deal with the Bills. Orton is the starter in Buffalo now, but when he was signed, the team regarded him as a backup to E.J. Manuel. At an average rate of $5.5MM per year, Orton was paid more than virtually every other backup in the league because the Bills recognized that a change may be necessary if the erratic Manuel struggled out of the gates.

Josh McCown‘s two-year, $10MM contract with the Buccaneers is a similar pact, though Tampa Bay viewed McCown as its starter heading into the season. The former Bear earned that deal after a brief, successful run as the starter in Chicago — while his numbers during that 2013 stretch were fantastic, a combination of his age and his mediocre career production kept the overall value of the pact in check.

Unlike Orton and McCown though, Hoyer is on the right side of age 30, and is showing he’s capable of acting as more than just the caretaker of an offense. His track record may not be extensive, but Hoyer has never been given the opportunity to prove himself as a starter, and now that he’s getting that chance, he’s proving he shouldn’t be moved down the depth chart anytime soon. If the Browns aren’t willing to offer him fair market value, other teams will be interested in the offseason, and assuming his play doesn’t fall off a cliff over the remainder of the season, Hoyer should be able to land a deal worth more than Orton’s or McCown’s on the open market.

From Linta’s perspective, it’s difficult to point to another player that represents a logical comparable for his client. Few quarterbacks have Hoyer’s combination of talent and inexperience at age 29, and that lack of a track record will almost certainly keep the Browns quarterback from landing a top-15 kind of deal. Perhaps a multiyear contract in the range of $8-10MM per year will make sense for Hoyer — as Over the Cap’s data shows, that’s currently a no-man’s land on the quarterback market, with no contracts averaging anything between Carson Palmer‘s $8MM and Tom Brady‘s $11.4MM.

Ultimately, it seems the Browns could be forced to make a decision between Hoyer or Manziel, and considering what a black hole the quarterback position has been for the team for the last several years, there’s no need to rush that decision. It makes sense for the Browns to wait until season’s end to see what they have in Hoyer. At that point, an extension could make a lot of sense for Cleveland. Even if the club intends to give Manziel an opportunity in the near future, he’ll be on an affordable rookie contract for several more seasons — that means there will be flexibility under the cap to pay Hoyer and potentially move on from Hoyer’s contract if and when Manziel proves he should be the No. 1 option in Cleveland.

AFC North Notes: Bengals, Steelers, Hoyer

September 27th, 2014 at 9:12pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Bengals are 3-0 for the first time since 2006, and with a top flight offense to go along with a strong defense, they are one of the NFL’s best so far this year. The team has outscored their opponents 80-33, and should only improve as they get receiver Marvin Jones back from injury, writes Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.

Here are some other notes from around the AFC North:

  • Wilson also noted the the return of James Harrison out of retirement reunites him with many of his old Steelers‘ teammates, including Brett Keisel, who was brought back as well. Wilson writes that it was Keisel who texted Harrison to convince him to come back.
  • The Steelers‘ defense is a little long in the tooth at a number of spots, writes Mark Kaboly of TribLive.com. However, defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau has been working magic on defense for years, and will now have the challenge of replacing Jarvis Jones, Ike Taylor, and first-round pick Ryan Shazier.
  • Pat McManamon of ESPN opens up a Browns‘ mailbag, and the starting question delves into the type of extension Brian Hoyer could earn if he continues to play this well. McManamon compares Hoyer’s recent success with the contracts received by Andy Dalton, Alex Smith, Carson Palmer, and Matt Cassel over the past few offseasons.
  • Hoyer led not one but two Browns‘ mailbags this week, and Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com also considered the contract extension Hoyer is playing for. With Manziel signed for four years, Grossi sees the Browns committing to Hoyer as long as he plays well this season, and making a decision about the future during the offseason.

Browns GM Talks QBs, Wideouts, Rookies

September 6th, 2014 at 8:39am CST by Ben Levine

Browns general manager Ray Farmer has seen his team steal headlines this offseason, and not necessarily for all the right reasons. Rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel has captivated the media, while star wide receiver Josh Gordon also made news when he received a season-long suspension. On Friday, the general manager spoke to reporters on a variety of subjects, and we have some of the key quotes below (via Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com)…

On the team’s decision to release quarterback Rex Grossman, carry two rookie running backs as backups to Ben Tate and solidify their offensive line depth:

“I’ll start with Rex. A lot of discussion went into that decision. I will tell you that we kept two quarterbacks because we felt like there were other players on the roster right now that could contribute to winning games on Sundays. Second question was the backup running backs in pass protection. I would tell you that from my perspective my job is to make sure the guys on the team are talented enough to play and perform. We think we’ve got guys to play and perform. I think the coaches have done a great job preparing those guys, and pass protection’s a part of that. If they’re called upon I’m pretty sure they’ll go out there and they’ll contribute to the roster the best way they can. The final one was the backup offensive line. I said this from the beginning – we’re going to be able to control the line of scrimmage at some point in time. We’re going to want to run the football. We’re going to want to be good up front, and you’ve got to have quality depth up front to do that. We added guys to the roster that we thought would improve our depth and give us a chance to be as good up front as we can be.”

On his wide receivers and the team’s release of Nate Burleson:

“I’m good with our receiving corps. I think the guys that we kept give us an opportunity to be dynamic in a lot of different ways. We have guys that I think can stretch the field. We have guys that I think can be good with the football in their hands. That’s what you want. I will say that the decision not to keep Nate was a tough one, good conversation between he and I about what went into that decision. I’ll leave that conversation private, but I do think that in all my time in football he’s right up there with the pro’s pros of how it was handled, what was said and how that whole thing was orchestrated.”

On whether the number of undrafted rookies who ultimately made the roster was an indication of good scouting or lack of depth:

“I would tend to say it’s good scouting. I would tend to say it’s our guys finding the guys that can help us. I don’t know if that number really every comes into my mind like, ‘Oh my goodness. We passed 15. We can’t be over 15. Cut somebody.’ That just never comes into play. You just want guys who can perform their task at a high level. There are several teams, even now, that are one, two guys different than we are in the league, and somehow there is a notion that we have too many college free-agents. It doesn’t matter to me one iota if the guy was drafted or not. I think one-third of the league is made up of college free agents. We have our share.”

His expectations for first-year coach Mike Pettine:

“I’m excited. I really think that he’s built for this. I spent a lot of time with Pett during this offseason preparing the roster and talking about what we’re going to do and what’s the right thing for this football team, and I can assure you when you talk about football and you look in this man’s eyes, he believes that he is going to prepare his team to do battle every single week. I bought in. I don’t know if everybody else is bought in, but I’m bought in. I know who Mike Pettine is and I believe it.”

On carrying 12 defensive backs on his 53-man roster:

“It’s been done, but I will say that anytime you get to your 53, you can be the best 53 guys, regardless of position. The worst thing that could happen is you cut a guy that can play and you know can play, and then somebody scoops him up and he goes and plays well for them. In our mind, when you have an excess, particularly at corner – we have guys that we think can play in this league – you hold onto them. The worst case is when you let them go and somebody gets them. That’s what happens. Our scouting staff has done a really good job in my mind of looking at other rosters because when you look at other players that either got signed to practice squads or were retained on teams, you go through an exercise of who’s going to make rosters, just like everybody else, to try to predetermine who is going to get released, good players don’t get cut. A lot of times, teams find a way to stash them, and when they don’t, it’s our job to then scoop in and scoop those guys up.”

On quarterback Brian Hoyer:

“I feel good about Brian. He’s going to do exactly what Brian does. We’re at a point now where we get to the regular season, you become a lot more focused and you things get a lot more honed in. Brian’s going to be prepared. He’s a pro’s pro. He studies it. He works at it. He’s committed to being that guy. His performance will speak for itself on Sunday, but I feel confident he’s going to go out there and play well.”

On whether he’ll continue to seek help for the bottom of his roster:

“It’s never settled. It’s the never ending movie. Like I said, there are teams that take different strategies in how they release and organize their team and as we go through this process there will be opportunities to get other players. And if those players are an advantage of being here, we are going to take advantage of we are at right now. Having the fourth claiming order you get to jump a lot of teams for a guy that you see out there that you want. You’ve got to take advantage of that while you can and that’s what we plan on doing.”

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