With their options limited under center, the Cleveland Browns have reached out to Brian Hoyer about a contract extension.
"We never got to the numbers part," Joe Linta, Hoyer's agent, told the Akron Beacon Journal on Saturday. "They called and said they were interested in bringing him back."
Set to become a free agent in March, Hoyer is scheduled to meet with coach Mike Pettine, general manager Ray Farmer and new offensive coordinator John DeFilippo in the coming weeks. What they tell him is likely to determine whether Hoyer is willing to stick with a Browns team that turned to Johnny Manziel down the stretch.
"I think the only thing that would make him not (want to) come back is if they said Manziel or whoever we take in the draft or whoever we sign in free agency is going to be the starter and you will only be the backup," Linta said. "I think that would probably drive him away a little bit.
"If Pettine said, 'Hey, it's going to be an open competition again between you and Johnny,' great, let's go. ... (Hoyer) wants to play. The kid wants to have an opportunity to compete and play."
An open competition feels likely after DeFilippo wondered out loud last week if his "starting quarterback's in the building right now or not," before team owner Jimmy Haslam peered past Johnny Football to declare "we've got to get a quarterback and got to get it fixed."
Hoyer didn't look like the solution, either, down the stretch, with his play crumbling after a promising first half to the season. Faced with a barren free-agent and draft class, though, the Browns don't hold the cards when it comes to rebuilding their quarterback room.
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