CLEVELAND – Following a 31-10 thrashing of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns starting quarterback Brian Hoyer may have just gained some leverage in contract talks.
Hoyer, who is 6-2 in eight starts as Browns starting quarterback, has thrown for 1,224 yards, seven touchdowns, one interception and a QB rating of 102.7, is in the second year of a two-year $1.97 million dollar contract that will pay him a base of one million in 2014-15.
After leading the Browns to a dominating win over the Steelers and a favorable schedule that includes two winless teams in Jacksonville, Oakland and bottom-feeders such as Tampa Bay who have a combined record of 1-16, Hoyer could possibly lead Cleveland to a 6-2 mark before tangling with the division-leading Cincinnati Bengals.
The question is, will the Browns pay up?
According to Tony Rizzo of The Tony Rizzo Show on Sunday following the win, Rizzo stated that Hoyer’s agent, Joe Linta—who also reps Super Bowl MVP, Joe Flacco—would re-visit contract talks with the Browns after Week 8.
Rizzo would go on to ask whether or not the Browns should make the call to Linta, who is rumored to be seeking a three-to-four year contract in the range of eight to nine million.
During the segment, Rizzo also stated that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam was not initially sold on Hoyer but is reportedly coming around to the notion of Hoyer—not Johnny Manziel—being the Browns quarterback going forward.
Rizzo’s co-host, three-time Super Bowl champion, Jerod Cheery stated that in response to concerns over Hoyer being a Derek Anderson-like one-year wonder stated, “Hoyer is a playmaker and plays a cerebral brand of football,“
Cherry would also go on to say that Anderson was not a leader of men inside the huddle.
While it may seem a bit pre-mature to speculate about Hoyer deserving a new contract with such a sample sample size of eight games as Cleveland’s starting quarterback, this writer feels it would be a wise move for the Browns to sign Hoyer to a three-year deal with a team option for a fourth year worth $8.5 million a year ($25.5 million, with incentives and bonuses making it around $36-40 million), if he continues his strong play.
Whether Hoyer’s early success is another Anderson-like fluke or if he is another Kelly Holcomb, such a deal would be a Costco-like bargain by today’s NFL standards, which is why Cleveland needs to lock Hoyer up long-term.
What this hypothetical deal would do is allow Hoyer to get the money he deserves and allow the Browns to do something that they have never done properly—develop a young quarterback for the future in Johnny Manziel—instead of succumbing to fans in throwing in a untested and unproven rookie.
If the Browns are serious, their first call Monday should be to Linta without a moment’s hesitation.
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No. Homer is basically Shaun Hill 2.0 he is better off as a backup.
The Browns have a chance at the playoffs. Yet, there franchise QB and future is Manziel.
There’s no way around that. It’s also not a good idea to over pay for a backup as well. Look at what happened in TB.
Homer! That’s a good one Res, here’s the thing. CLE has never properly developed a QB and need to develop some form of consistency and continuity for once. I like Manziel too, but he needs time to learn the NFL game, which is why I think a nice 3-4 year deal worth 3 million is a bargain.
I disagree, as the Browns would be wise to sign him to a 3/4 year deal in order to provide some stability at QB for once and let Manziel develop.
Hoyer isn’t really wowing anyone he plays a solid game and the Browns are 3-2, yes there’s a soft schedule coming up and winnable games, yet there’s no guarantees.
He’s 29-years old and has never been a starter until this year and he’s not exactly having an eye-popping season. A 3-4 year contract extension is wishful thinking he’s an above average backup and an average starting QB.
Manziel is the one that got Browns fans into their seats, became the top selling or near top selling jersey rather quickly, he put the franchise back into the media eyes, he’s not going to sit around for 2-3 seasons backing up Hoyer. Not going to happen.
Unless Hoyer stumbles into a Super Bowl, the Browns have no reason to continue to start him. When Manziel’s ready, it becomes Manziel’s team.
Not Hoyer’s fault as to who is on the schedule, just like injuries the SOS is a factor that cannot be determined. I see your point, but you have to empathize with Browns fans who haven’t seen a real QB in a long time. Still he does need to show more. Let me ask you this, if you’re the Browns GM (Ray farmer0 how much would you offer him?
Not Hoyer’s fault as to who is on the schedule, just like injuries the
SOS is a factor that cannot be determined. I see your point, but you
have to empathize with Browns fans who haven’t seen a real QB in a long
time. Still he does need to show more. Let me ask you this, if you’re
the Browns GM (Ray Farmer) how much would you offer him?
Homer! That’s a good one Res, here’s the thing. CLE has never properly
developed a QB and need to develop some form of consistency and
continuity for once. I like Manziel too, but he needs time to learn the
NFL game, which is why I think a nice 3-4 year deal worth 3 million is a
bargain.