Patriots sign Brian Hoyer, but not before the Packers try to grab him instead

Frank Schwab
·NFL writer

Hey, remember when Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy angrily answered a question about Colin Kaepernick by insisting his quarterback room was set? That was fun.

On Wednesday, the New England Patriots signed quarterback Brian Hoyer, which was expected. Hoyer was cut by the San Francisco 49ers after they traded for Jimmy Garoppolo. Hoyer got a three-year deal from New England, which was surprising. But what might have been the biggest surprise is that Hoyer was also being courted by the Packers, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Yes, the same Packers who had “three years invested in Brett Hundley, two years invested in Joe Callahan. The quarterback room is exactly where it needs to be,” as McCarthy said as he lashed out at a Kaepernick question. One Hundley start seems to have changed some things.

Perhaps it was just the front office trying to get a veteran and McCarthy wasn’t involved in that conversation (as Aaron Nagler of PackersNews.com pointed out). Maybe the Packers really like Hoyer and when McCarthy got salty about the question, Hoyer wasn’t an option. And McCarthy would be far from the first coach to answer a question in an angry tone even though it wasn’t the truth. But it is pretty funny.

Hoyer ends up with the Patriots, which makes sense for everyone. Hoyer can nestle into the quarterback-friendly womb of the Patriots again, and New England has a competent backup after trading away Jacoby Brissett and Garoppolo in the span of two months. Hoyer spent three seasons with New England at the beginning of his career.

And the Packers’ quarterback room might not be “exactly where it needs to be,” but it probably isn’t dramatically changing soon either.

Quarterback Brian Hoyer has signed with the New England Patriots. (AP)
Quarterback Brian Hoyer has signed with the New England Patriots. (AP)

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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