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Patriots 'tons' of confidence in Brian Hoyer amid Mac Jones injury

The Patriots might be without their starting quarterback Mac Jones for some time. Can Brian Hoyer keep them afloat?

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The Patriots might be without their starting quarterback for some time.

Mac Jones suffered an apparent left ankle injury in Sunday's 37-26 loss to the Ravens. It's unknown if Jones will miss time yet. If he does, Brian Hoyer will start over Bailey Zappe, The Athletic's Jeff Howe reported Sunday.

Several players on the Patriots' offense expressed confidence in Hoyer if he has to start in upcoming games.

“Tons,” Patriots center and captain David Andrews said when asked how much confidence he has in Hoyer. “Brian's been here a long time. I have a lot of respect for how he comes in and works every day and prepares like he is going to play.”

Hoyer's spent much of his 14-year NFL career as a journeyman, playing for eight teams. He's on his third stint with the Patriots though, with this season marking his eighth year in New England.

One of the stops Hoyer was at between his first and second stops in New England was in San Francisco with the 49ers in 2017. Kendrick Bourne was also in San Francisco at the time too as he was drafted by the 49ers that year.

Bourne reflected on his experience with Hoyer in San Francisco as he prepares to possibly play with him in the Week 4 matchup against the Packers.

“I played with Brian my rookie year. Great leader. He taught me a lot. I think he’ll be ready,” Bourne said. “So I pray that Mac is OK, but next man up and I think Brian is a natural leader. I was a young guy and he just was motivating me a lot. Telling me I’ve got a lot of potential… he kinda saw what I couldn’t see back then. So it’s kinda cool to come full circle.”

Bourne also expressed confidence in Hoyer's ability to possibly fill in for Jones in the interim.

“Brian knows what he’s doing. He knows the offense,” Bourne said. “It’s just about us backing him up. That’s my job and the O-line’s job to support him and help him be better and step into that role.

“Me and Brian Hoyer get along really well. He’s a great vet. Taught me a lot. He’s been playing for a while. He knows exactly what he’s doing. I think he’ll be just fine.”

A pair of other Patriots offensive starters cited that amount of time Hoyer's played in the NFL as a reason why they've got faith in him.

“He’s a leader. He’s a vet and he knows the defenses. He’s seen it all,” receiver DeVante Parker said. “I expect that he’ll just come out and do what he can to help the team.”

“Obviously he’s been in the league for a long time, man,” tight end Hunter Henry added. “You don’t stick around in this league for a long time unless you’re a really smart, tough, great football player.”

Despite playing so many seasons in New England, Hoyer's made just one start so far for the Patriots in his career. That came in Week 4 of the 2020 season against the Chiefs when he filled in for Cam Newton, who tested positive for COVID-19 days prior to the game. Hoyer didn't play well, completing 15 of 24 passes for 160 yards with an interception before getting benched for Jarrett Stidham.

Hoyer is 16-23 in the 39 starts he's made over his career.

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About the Author

Conor Roche is a sports journalist that has covered Boston sports for a few years and has worked on the Patriots beat since the 2022 season.