Raiders QB Almost Retired Before Joining Team: Insider

Throughout organized team activities, Brian Hoyer took the first-team reps for the Las Vegas Raiders with Jimmy Garoppolo sitting out due to injury. Garoppolo had foot surgery in March after he failed a physical when he first signed with the team, per a May 25 report from The Athletic’s Tashan Reed and Vic Tafur.

aHoyer has been in the NFL since 2009 and has spent four seasons under Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels when they were both with the New England Patriots. He has mostly been a backup throughout his career outside of the 2014 season where he started 13 games for the Cleveland Browns and the 2015 season where he started nine games for the Houston Texans. After 14 seasons in the NFL, Hoyer was considering walking away from the game this offseason, according to a June 22 column from Tafur and The Athletic.

“Hoyer almost retired, but a year in Las Vegas helping out Garoppolo and O’Connell was too good to pass up,” Tafur wrote. “He is 0-12 in his last 12 starts, but hey, win-loss records are not a quarterback stat. At least, that’s been the popular refrain around these parts. O’Connell is accurate, and the goal is for him to become a long-term backup.”

Could Brian Hoyer Be Week 1 Starter?

In his column, Vic Tafur wrote that “the expectation is that [Jimmy] Garoppolo will be back from foot surgery in time for training camp.” If that ends up being the case, he is the unquestioned starter heading into the 2023 season. However, the Raiders do need to prepare for the worst considering Garoppolo’s injury history. He hasn’t been able to make it through a whole season since 2019.

Chase Garbers and Aidan O’Connell are the only other quarterbacks on the roster outside of Garoppolo and Hoyer, and neither of them has ever taken a snap during an NFL regular season game. Unless the Raiders decided to add another veteran quarterback, Hoyer would be the Week 1 starter if Garoppolo can’t play. He hasn’t won a start since 2016 so it wouldn’t be the ideal situation for Las Vegas.

Brian Hoyer Excited to Play for Las Vegas Raiders

Brian Hoyer has been playing football for a long time now and even won a Super Bowl ring with the Patriots in 2018. As he nears the end of his career, there isn’t much more he can accomplish. So why didn’t he retire already? He was far too excited about the opportunity to come to Las Vegas and play for the Raiders.

“To get to year 15 is something I’m proud of, and obviously with this new opportunity, and this team, and this organization, really to end my career, that’s the way it’s going to be,” Hoyer said during a June 5 “Raiders Roundtable Live Show.” “I’m excited to meet all the guys, it’s obviously a great group, get to work with them every day, and just go out and execute and have fun.”

Hoyer knows Josh McDaniels’ offense well and is ready to help teach it to the players who are new to the team.

“I think that’s part of the role, part of the reason I’m here,” Hoyer said of teaching the offense. “We have a lot of other guys who have played in this system, adding Jakobi Meyers, one of the smartest players I’ve ever played with; he was able to learn it quickly.

“All of us who have played in the system before, it is our responsibility to help those other guys if they have questions or maybe point something out that they’re not noticing. I think that’s part of our role.”