Brian Hoyer has a 6-8 month timetable

Cleveland Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer (6) throws during the second quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at Mall of America Field at H.H.H. Metrodome. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer could very well being the 2014 season as the Browns starting quarterback, because GM Michael Lombardi has always been high on him and Hoyer showed up well in a pair of starts this season. While the most likely scenario has the Browns drafting a quarterback in the 2014 draft, it is possible that the Browns simply decide to go with another year of Hoyer to see if he can be the team’s franchise QB. Hoyer likely isn’t anything more than a good stopgap QB, though, so I honestly think the best thing for the Browns to do is to draft a QB and allow him to sit behind Hoyer and learn from the bench. As Tom Brady once said about his own experience in the league, there’s definitely value to learning on the bench and not losing your confidence as a young QB.

Hoyer tore his ACL in Week 5 against the Buffalo Bills in what was a surprising turn of events, but he’ll be ready to get at it before the 2014 season starts. The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Tom Reed reports that Hoyer stated his timetable to return is between six and eight months, and the 28-year-old signal-caller obviously hopes that it’s closer to six than eight.

The Cleveland native was finally able to become a starting quarterback in this league, and he gave the Browns franchise some hope in his dream gig before going down with an injury. He was one of the feel-good stories of the first half of the NFL season, and it’s great to hear that he will be up and running at around late spring or early summer.

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