Cleveland Browns’ Best Option is to Let Brian Hoyer Walk This Offseason

By Casey Drottar @cdrottar19 on November 17, 2014

An interesting moment took place yesterday during the Cleveland Browns’ loss to the Houston Texans.

Quarterback Brian Hoyer, he who had led the Browns to a 6-3 record coming into the game and also has free agency waiting for him in the offseason, took a hit like there was no tomorrow from Houston linebacker Brian Cushing. Hoyer lay on the ground, looking to be in some significant pain. However, the hit itself wasn’t the biggest moment. Instead, it was the TV camera cutting to a sight many league pundits have been waiting to see for a long time now; backup Johnny Manziel getting ready to hit the field.

However, anyone hoping to see the flashy rookie’s long-awaited debut was sadly disappointed. Hoyer remained in the game, and while he netted over 300 yards passing, he finished the game completing just 20 of a whopping 50 attempts through the air.

The 23-7 loss was a giant step back for everyone involved with the Browns, including a defense which allowed Texans’ undrafted rookie back Alfred Blue to gash them for 156 yards on the ground, literally doubling his career high. At the same time, with Hoyer looking for a new contract from his hometown team, his performance wasn’t one to put on his resume.

While Hoyer’s free agency adventure is currently on the backburner until the season comes to an end, it’s getting more relevant by the week. He wants to stay in Cleveland, but his agent says the Browns front office hasn’t spoken to him regarding a new deal since May. And though Hoyer has made a strong case as someone worth signing, the Browns’ best offseason route appears to get clearer the farther we get into the season.

Barring a deep playoff run, Cleveland should let Hoyer finish the year, and then let him walk, turning the keys over to Manziel.

Now, I realize this isn’t a popular statement to make with more than a few Browns fans. This is just one year after the team started three different quarterbacks in one 4-12 season. The franchise hasn’t had consistency at this position since Bernie Kosar was running the huddle in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Why would a team so desperate for a quality quarterback let the first one to lead them to a solid season walk free at the end of the year?

Reading this, you’d obviously see why many think the Browns need to sign Hoyer as soon as possible. However, there’s more to this than the “hometown boy leads his team to success” story.

Consider, first, the fact that, despite the 6-4 record Cleveland has, Hoyer has still shown many flashes of inconsistency this year. After emotional wins against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals, he struggled to get the offense going the very next week. On top of this, the Texans showed yesterday just how you beat Hoyer: bring pressure often and you’ll get him rattled. It worked this weekend, as well as when the Browns lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars, also one of Hoyer’s weaker performances this year.

On top of this, the front office isn’t really making any comments suggesting they’re looking at Hoyer as their guy for the long haul. Last week, at GM Ray Farmer’s impromptu press conference, he made more than a few comments which did nothing but cloud his starting QB’s future with Cleveland.

“Brian’s contract expires at the end of the season, Johnny’s doesn’t,” said Farmer. “We’ll see what happens with Brian between now and then.”

The issue, I’d guess, is what’s becoming pretty common knowledge around the league; Hoyer is going to garner a good amount of attention from more than just the Browns. Rumors are already surfacing regarding clubs showing interest, such as the Texans or the Tennessee Titans. As much as Hoyer loves playing for the team he grew up watching, I struggle to believe he’s willing to take any sort of hometown discount. If another franchise offers Hoyer a rich deal, is Cleveland going to want to match it, especially knowing they can stick with Manziel and work on developing him at a much cheaper cost?

To be fair, there’s plenty of unknown with Manziel. He’s yet to get a chance to prove he can hang with the big boys in the NFL. But, while the Browns don’t know what they’ve got in Manziel, they have a pretty concrete idea what they have in Hoyer. At 29 years of age, it’s safe to say Hoyer has shown everything he can bring to the table. And while said abilities have led to some success this year, I’m not sure they merit locking up Hoyer long-term for a lot of money. I’d be willing to bet the Browns feel the same way.

Why else would Farmer quickly and assuredly shoot down the notion of passing on Manziel if he had the chance to do the draft over again? Why else would he continue peppering the media with quotes implying the former Texas A&M star is the guy for the future in Cleveland, even as Hoyer continues putting wins on the board?

There are, of course, risks in letting Hoyer go in the offseason. His teammates both believe in him and love playing for him. He’s brought more positivity and hope to Cleveland than any quarterback in the last seven years. And yes, the return of Josh Gordon this Sunday will certainly change things in terms of how the offense looks. If the Browns were to finish the season with their first winning record since 2007, only to let the man who brought them there go in free agency, it would generate more than a bit of negative buzz.

Again, though, the issue at hand isn’t whether or not Hoyer has earned a big contract. Instead, it’s the fact he’s likely to garner more interest and dollars than the Browns are willing to give him.

Hoyer has been a great story for a team which hasn’t had many of them the past few years. Unfortunately, the NFL is a business, and I think this is why Hoyer’s days in Cleveland are starting to dwindle.

Casey Drottar is a Featured Columnist for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @CDrottar19 or “Like” him on Facebook