Brian Hoyer signs with Pittsburgh Steelers

Brian Hoyer signs with Pittsburgh Steelers
By Marc Sessler
Around the League Writer
Published: Nov. 20, 2012 at 12:39 p.m.

It's official. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Byron Leftwich won't be on the field Sunday against the Cleveland Browns -- and he won't be the only backup in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers signed Brian Hoyer, the former New England Patriots* quarterback, a source close to the player told NFL.com's Ian Rapoport on Tuesday.

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Hoyer wasn't the only move the Steelers made Tuesday. Pittsburgh also signed veteran wideout Plaxico Burress, who began his career with the Steelers, NFL.com's Aditi Kinkhabwala and Rapoport report.

The Steelers later announced, via a team release, that the two players had signed one-year deals.

Hoyer is being brought in to bolster a quarterback group missing injured starter Ben Roethlisberger and now Leftwich, who the team ruled out against the Browns due to multiple rib fractures. The Burress addition is the result of injuries to Antonio Brown and Jerricho Cotchery. Coach Mike Tomlin confirmed Tuesday that Cotchery has been ruled out against the Browns with the same rib injury Leftwich is suffering from.

(Read More:) http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000098238/article/byron-leftwich-ribs-out-for-steelers-team-to-sign-brian-hoyer

WOW! That's all................

Kornbread wrote:

WOW! That's all................

What are you talking about is that all what more could you want from the Steelers.

Super Bowl, here we come!

All right. Hoyer has been Brady's backup for several years. He is not as old as the hills like Batch and Lefty. I actually have been saying that Hoyer should be the one to pick up. Kind of surprised they didn't even talk to Jerrod Johnson but he obviously did not fit the bill in the Steeler's coach's eyes.

lvsteelersfan wrote:

All right. Hoyer has been Brady's backup for several years. He is not as old as the hills like Batch and Lefty. I actually have been saying that Hoyer should be the one to pick up. Kind of surprised they didn't even talk to Jerrod Johnson but he obviously did not fit the bill in the Steeler's coach's eyes.

I guess Hoyer at least has some NFL experience holding a clipboard. Jerrod Johnson doesn't even have that. I'm sure they feel they have a fighting chance in an emergency with Hoyer if Batch goes down. Unlikely a rookie QB who couldn't even make the practice squad anywhere would have a snowball's chance in hell of keeping us competitive. I don't think they trust turning the reins of their season over to a guy like that when they are good enough to stay in the hunt till Ben gets back.

Buddha Bus wrote:

lvsteelersfan wrote:

All right. Hoyer has been Brady's backup for several years. He is not as old as the hills like Batch and Lefty. I actually have been saying that Hoyer should be the one to pick up. Kind of surprised they didn't even talk to Jerrod Johnson but he obviously did not fit the bill in the Steeler's coach's eyes.

I guess Hoyer at least has some NFL experience holding a clipboard. Jerrod Johnson doesn't even have that. I'm sure they feel they have a fighting chance in an emergency with Hoyer if Batch goes down. Unlikely a rookie QB who couldn't even make the practice squad anywhere would have a snowball's chance in hell of keeping us competitive. I don't think they trust turning the reins of their season over to a guy like that when they are good enough to stay in the hunt till Ben gets back.

Experience doesn't mean diddley at this point. If Batch goes down, I can just hear the conversation in the huddle with Hoyer. "OK, Brian. You can breathe now. I'll go this way and he'll go that way. Just try to pick out one of us and throw the ball."

I thought Jerrod Johnson looked half decent in ST. AT LEAST, he had some familiarity with the playbook. My guess is he couldn't get out of his UFL contract.

exncite wrote:

Buddha Bus wrote:

lvsteelersfan wrote:

All right. Hoyer has been Brady's backup for several years. He is not as old as the hills like Batch and Lefty. I actually have been saying that Hoyer should be the one to pick up. Kind of surprised they didn't even talk to Jerrod Johnson but he obviously did not fit the bill in the Steeler's coach's eyes.

I guess Hoyer at least has some NFL experience holding a clipboard. Jerrod Johnson doesn't even have that. I'm sure they feel they have a fighting chance in an emergency with Hoyer if Batch goes down. Unlikely a rookie QB who couldn't even make the practice squad anywhere would have a snowball's chance in hell of keeping us competitive. I don't think they trust turning the reins of their season over to a guy like that when they are good enough to stay in the hunt till Ben gets back.

Experience doesn't mean diddley at this point. If Batch goes down, I can just hear the conversation in the huddle with Hoyer. "OK, Brian. You can breathe now. I'll go this way and he'll go that way. Just try to pick out one of us and throw the ball."

I thought Jerrod Johnson looked half decent in ST. AT LEAST, he had some familiarity with the playbook. My guess is he couldn't get out of his UFL contract.

I'd still rather have a guy with some NFL experience than none. And Johnson wasn't exactly a rookie phenom in the preseason for us. He was inconsistent at best. I would have been OK with the team signing him to the practice squad after the preseason and maybe I would feel differently right now. If he had been with us up till now on the PS, he'd probably be up with the team now and I'd be OK with that too. The fact he was cut shows me the team had little faith in him and makes me want to look elsewhere.

Keep in mind that the preseason playbook is very vanilla and not what the team will run in the regular season. They don't want guys being cut and going to a division rival with all of our secrets. In that sense, Hoyer and Johnson probably aren't that far apart as far as knowing our offense since Johnson was a rookie who hadn't spent any regular season time with us. He may have a little more familiarity with the personnel and coaches, but not the actual offense. NFL experience would trump that limited familiarity in my eyes.

Buddha Bus wrote:

exncite wrote:

Buddha Bus wrote:

lvsteelersfan wrote:

All right. Hoyer has been Brady's backup for several years. He is not as old as the hills like Batch and Lefty. I actually have been saying that Hoyer should be the one to pick up. Kind of surprised they didn't even talk to Jerrod Johnson but he obviously did not fit the bill in the Steeler's coach's eyes.

I guess Hoyer at least has some NFL experience holding a clipboard. Jerrod Johnson doesn't even have that. I'm sure they feel they have a fighting chance in an emergency with Hoyer if Batch goes down. Unlikely a rookie QB who couldn't even make the practice squad anywhere would have a snowball's chance in hell of keeping us competitive. I don't think they trust turning the reins of their season over to a guy like that when they are good enough to stay in the hunt till Ben gets back.

Experience doesn't mean diddley at this point. If Batch goes down, I can just hear the conversation in the huddle with Hoyer. "OK, Brian. You can breathe now. I'll go this way and he'll go that way. Just try to pick out one of us and throw the ball."

I thought Jerrod Johnson looked half decent in ST. AT LEAST, he had some familiarity with the playbook. My guess is he couldn't get out of his UFL contract.

I'd still rather have a guy with some NFL experience than none. And Johnson wasn't exactly a rookie phenom in the preseason for us. He was inconsistent at best. I would have been OK with the team signing him to the practice squad after the preseason and maybe I would feel differently right now. If he had been with us up till now on the PS, he'd probably be up with the team now and I'd be OK with that too. The fact he was cut shows me the team had little faith in him and makes me want to look elsewhere.

Keep in mind that the preseason playbook is very vanilla and not what the team will run in the regular season. They don't want guys being cut and going to a division rival with all of our secrets. In that sense, Hoyer and Johnson probably aren't that far apart as far as knowing our offense since Johnson was a rookie who hadn't spent any regular season time with us. He may have a little more familiarity with the personnel and coaches, but not the actual offense. NFL experience would trump that limited familiarity in my eyes.

I guess I can live with that line of reasoning. I still think the QB situation is a serious one that had better be addressed beginning next season. Ben is one of the best but won't be around forever.

exncite wrote:

Buddha Bus wrote:

exncite wrote:

Buddha Bus wrote:

lvsteelersfan wrote:

All right. Hoyer has been Brady's backup for several years. He is not as old as the hills like Batch and Lefty. I actually have been saying that Hoyer should be the one to pick up. Kind of surprised they didn't even talk to Jerrod Johnson but he obviously did not fit the bill in the Steeler's coach's eyes.

I guess Hoyer at least has some NFL experience holding a clipboard. Jerrod Johnson doesn't even have that. I'm sure they feel they have a fighting chance in an emergency with Hoyer if Batch goes down. Unlikely a rookie QB who couldn't even make the practice squad anywhere would have a snowball's chance in hell of keeping us competitive. I don't think they trust turning the reins of their season over to a guy like that when they are good enough to stay in the hunt till Ben gets back.

Experience doesn't mean diddley at this point. If Batch goes down, I can just hear the conversation in the huddle with Hoyer. "OK, Brian. You can breathe now. I'll go this way and he'll go that way. Just try to pick out one of us and throw the ball."

I thought Jerrod Johnson looked half decent in ST. AT LEAST, he had some familiarity with the playbook. My guess is he couldn't get out of his UFL contract.

I'd still rather have a guy with some NFL experience than none. And Johnson wasn't exactly a rookie phenom in the preseason for us. He was inconsistent at best. I would have been OK with the team signing him to the practice squad after the preseason and maybe I would feel differently right now. If he had been with us up till now on the PS, he'd probably be up with the team now and I'd be OK with that too. The fact he was cut shows me the team had little faith in him and makes me want to look elsewhere.

Keep in mind that the preseason playbook is very vanilla and not what the team will run in the regular season. They don't want guys being cut and going to a division rival with all of our secrets. In that sense, Hoyer and Johnson probably aren't that far apart as far as knowing our offense since Johnson was a rookie who hadn't spent any regular season time with us. He may have a little more familiarity with the personnel and coaches, but not the actual offense. NFL experience would trump that limited familiarity in my eyes.

I guess I can live with that line of reasoning. I still think the QB situation is a serious one that had better be addressed beginning next season. Ben is one of the best but won't be around forever.

I agree wholeheartedly. I've been saying for awhile they need to, at minimum, find a suitable young backup QB who can take a few hits without his glass bones breaking like Batch or Lefty. I'm not sure if they need to worry about Ben's replacement just yet as he can probably play at least 5 more years at a high level if he can stay healthy. You don't want his future replacement sitting on the bench making top dollar for 5 years. I'd say in 2-3 years they need to start thinking seriously about his replacement, but for now a young backup should be a priority sometime after the 3rd round of the draft.

Who knows, maybe Hoyer will be that young backup we're looking for to replace Lefty and/or Batch next year.

I said during this year's draft that the Steelers should shop around for a QB in the next draft. I don't think Ben is over the hill at all, but we need to get some young hot shot (i.e. Luck) that the Steelers can begin to groom. Ben has been pretty banged up over the past few years, and I don't forsee the longevity that say, Farve, had with the league. I hope Ben is around when he hits 40, as I think he truly is one of the best, most underrated QB's out there. But injuries take their toll and I think a QB should be one of the top priorities next draft.

Gingerchip wrote:

I said during this year's draft that the Steelers should shop around for a QB in the next draft. I don't think Ben is over the hill at all, but we need to get some young hot shot (i.e. Luck) that the Steelers can begin to groom. Ben has been pretty banged up over the past few years, and I don't forsee the longevity that say, Farve, had with the league. I hope Ben is around when he hits 40, as I think he truly is one of the best, most underrated QB's out there. But injuries take their toll and I think a QB should be one of the top priorities next draft.

Sorry, Ginger, but we won't find a hot shot like Luck unless we have a shit record and draft high. We may be able to get lucky and strike gold with a later round QB project, but it's unlikely we'll get a QB the caliber of a Luck unless extremely lucky. I'd be happy just getting the young respectable backup for now and look for that starter in a couple of years.

at least this guy is not 47

Buddha Bus wrote:

Gingerchip wrote:

I said during this year's draft that the Steelers should shop around for a QB in the next draft. I don't think Ben is over the hill at all, but we need to get some young hot shot (i.e. Luck) that the Steelers can begin to groom. Ben has been pretty banged up over the past few years, and I don't forsee the longevity that say, Farve, had with the league. I hope Ben is around when he hits 40, as I think he truly is one of the best, most underrated QB's out there. But injuries take their toll and I think a QB should be one of the top priorities next draft.

Sorry, Ginger, but we won't find a hot shot like Luck unless we have a shit record and draft high. We may be able to get lucky and strike gold with a later round QB project, but it's unlikely we'll get a QB the caliber of a Luck unless extremely lucky. I'd be happy just getting the young respectable backup for now and look for that starter in a couple of years.

I agree.

There's lots of talk about starting to look for Ben's eventual replacement. I think it's too early to start doing that. Barring a career-ending injury, Ben could play for another 4, 5, 6, 7, years. And maybe even longer. He's a competitor, and we know he's not going to retire because he has a hangnail, so I don't see him shutting it down until he absolutely has to. We're not going to waste a high draft pick on a QB who is only going to sit the bench. Not only will we have to pay him just to sit the bench, he'll likely leave at the first opportunity if there's no sign of Ben retiring or being let go. Then we're back to square one.

I think the better option is to get a young QB with some potential ... someone who isn't a franchise QB but who can play and give us a chance to win. Basically, a younger Batch. Then in another 2 or 3 years, they can start thinking about looking for Ben's replacement.

The exception to what I said would be if a really good QB fell to them in the draft, much like how Rodgers fell to Green Bay. If that happens, that changes everything. You can't pass up a potential franchise QB.