Hoyer is an option

In the hours since an appeals court reinstated Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for his role in Deflategate, conventional wisdom was that backup Jimmy Garoppolo would be the next in line. That was the case a year ago, before Brady’s suspension was overturned by a federal judge, so why would it be any different this time around?

For starters, Brian Hoyer wasn’t available last offseason. And while no one would confuse Hoyer with a franchise quarterback, he’s very familiar with the Patriots organization, and more than that, he’s been effective in spot duty in Arizona, Cleveland and Houston. Oh, and as it stands, the Patriots currently have just two quarterbacks on the roster, and one will miss the first month of the season while on suspension.

Hoyer went undrafted out of Michigan State in 2009, and he had no plans to sign with the Patriots — until his agent convinced him it was a smart career move.

“My agent was like, ‘I think you should go to New England,'” Hoyer said in December 2015, via ESPN.com. “And I said, ‘You’re crazy because they have Tom Brady, they had a guy who had been there for a few years, and then the year before they had drafted a guy in the third round.’ He’s like, ‘No, I think they really like you. And if anything, it’s a great opportunity to …

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