The New England Patriots will have a different quarterback going into their matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs as Cam Newton will not play due to testing positive for the coronavirus. Backup quarterback Brian Hoyer will start in Newton’s absence.

Hoyer is no stranger to the Patriots as he started his career with them. This will be Hoyer’s first start as a member of the Patriots.

Brian Hoyer beginning his NFL career as Tom Brady’s backup

After his Michigan State career, Hoyer was rated the ninth-best quarterback in the 2009 NFL Draft by NFLDraftScout.com. Hoyer was not selected in the NFL draft, and he signed immediately with the Patriots after the draft. During the preseason, Hoyer went 29-for-44 throwing for 354 yards and one touchdown. He finished with a 98.1 passer rating. During training camp, the Patriots released three other quarterbacks, leaving Hoyer as the lone backup for Tom Brady. 

Hoyer made his NFL debut during the 2009 season on October 18 against the Tennessee Titans. He appeared in the second half of the game and went 5-for-5 on his first drive throwing for 35 yards and had a rushing touchdown. Hoyer finished the season throwing for 142 yards with one rushing touchdown. The Ohio native spent his first three seasons in New England serving as a backup quarterback. 

During that time, he appeared in 13 games throwing for 286 yards and one touchdown. With the success of Brady, Hoyer did not see that much playing time early on in his NFL career, but he had the opportunity to learn from one of the best quarterbacks in the game. 

After the 2011 season, Hoyer was released by the Patriots in August of 2012. Hoyer spent time practicing at his high school alma mater when the Patriots released him as he was hoping to sign with an NFL team. He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in November of 2012 and served as a backup to Charlie Batch. During his brief stint with the Steelers, he did not appear in any games during the 2012 season.

Brian Hoyer becoming a starting quarterback after leaving the Patriots

In December, the Arizona Cardinals claimed him off waivers, and he made his first NFL start during the season finale against the San Francisco 49ers. Hoyer went 19-of-34 for 225 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception as the Cardinals lost the game. He was then released by the Cardinals and signed with the Cleveland Browns for the 2013 season. Hoyer spent two seasons with the Browns and was the starting quarterback during the 2014 season. He finished that season, throwing for 3,326 yards with 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. During the 2014 season, he led the Browns to a 6-3 start but struggled the next four games as the Browns only won one of those games and fell to a 7-6 record with Hoyer as the starting quarterback.

After his contract expired with the Browns, he signed with the Houston Texans. He was named the starting quarterback for the 2015 season. Hoyer appeared in 11 games making nine starts and threw for 2,606 yards with 19 touchdowns. He led the Texans to their first playoff berth and AFC South title since 2012. Hoyer struggled in his first playoff game as he threw four interceptions in the AFC Wild Card Game against the Chiefs. The Texans lost the game 30-0. Hoyer spent time as the starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears and the San Francisco 49ers during the 2016 and 2017 season. 

He spent the first half of the 2017 seasons with the 49ers and then returned to the Patriots for his second stint. Hoyer finished the 2017 season as the backup quarterback and went into the 2018 season as Brady’s backup. During the 2018 season, Hoyer was a part of the Patriots team that won the Super Bowl for the 2018 season. After winning a Super Bowl, the Patriots Hoyer and then he signed with the Indianapolis Colts. He appeared in three games and made one start for the Colts during the 2019 season and threw four touchdowns and four interceptions.

Brian Hoyer rejoining the Patriots and will have the chance to make his first start as a Patriot

Hoyer has played for the Patriots on multiple occasions before the 2020 season. Now in his third stint with the team, he will have the opportunity to make his first start in a Patriots uniform. He has spent all of his Patriots career as a backup to Brady and Cam Newton, and now he’ll have the chance to join Brady and Newton as a starter for the Patriots.

With Newton being placed on the COVID-19/reserve list, the Patriots will look to one of their backup quarterbacks to lead them to a victory over the defending Super Champs, the Kansas City Chiefs. All signs are pointing to Hoyer to make the start as he’s served as the No. 2 quarterback for the Patriots for the first three games of the 2020 season. Hoyer has had a lot of experience with the Patriots during his NFL career and has had the opportunity to backup a future Hall of Famer in Brady. It’ll be interesting to see how he makes his debut as a starter for the Patriots.