New York Jets: Brian Hoyer is a viable Plan B at quarterback

The New York Jets are still locked in a contract stalemate with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. They continue to look at other options and Brian Hoyer is right at the top of their list.

It was first reported by Rich Cimini of ESPN on Tuesday that former Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns starting quarterback Hoyer would be visiting the Jets’ facility in Florham Park. The thirty year-old signal caller is coming off of a season in Houston in which he threw for just over 2,600 yards with 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions over the course of his eleven starts.

The majority of Jets fans and football fans alike have called the team out for even entertaining the idea of signing Hoyer over Fitzpatrick. It is important to note that the two signal callers have had similar production over the past few seasons, and they are very similar talents.

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Jan 9, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer (7) throws a pass as Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker Frank Zombo (51) rushes during the second quarter in a AFC Wild Card playoff football game at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Over the past two seasons, Fitzpatrick has thrown for less than five hundred more yards in than Hoyer has in three more games. Hoyer’s career quarterback rating of 82.2 surpasses Fitzpatrick’s 80.8. Fitzpatrick’s completion percentage is 60.1% compared to Hoyer’s 58%. At the end of the day, it is clear that Hoyer is a similar quarterback to Fitzpatrick in terms of production.

If Hoyer were to play for the Jets during the 2016-2017 season, he would be playing with arguably the best supporting cast he’s had in his career. With Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker being used in the downfield passing game, plus Matt Forte and Bilal Powell coming out of the backfield, Hoyer’s game could potentially elevate to a new level.

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The Jets surrounding offense would certainly be more of a help to Hoyer than the Texans former supporting cast of DeAndre Hopkins, Nate Washington, Cecil Shorts and Alfred Blue did.

He would have a deeper, more versatile group of running backs, and arguably the best receiving tandem in the league to work with.

Hoyer’s stats compared to past seasons would be up with the Jets cast of skill players on offense.

Another very important aspect to look at when it comes to Hoyer is how cost-efficient he would be for a Jets team that needs to save as much money as possible. Hoyer could save them a ton of salary cap space compared to Fitzpatrick’s outrageous asking price.

Brian Hoyer’s asking price is expected to be in the $3-4M per year range. If the Jets were to sign Hoyer to this type of contract they would be saving a good amount of money while only downgrading a little bit at the position. Fitzpatrick’s current asking price is reportedly $16M and the Jets are certainly not looking to pay that.

With all this being considered, Hoyer would be a very good option for the Jets if they were ultimately unable to re-sign Fitzpatrick. Hoyer may not bring quite the same leadership or production that Fitzpatrick brings to the table, but he is certainly not too far off.

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Hoyer’s cost compared to Fitzpatrick’s would give the Jets much more flexibility and room to improve as well. If the Jets wanted to find a quarterback similar to Fitzpatrick, for much less of a cost, Hoyer could be a very good fit.

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