Brian Hoyer: Cleveland Browns ‘my team until someone else tells me otherwise’
By Phil Watson
The Cleveland Browns may be in the midst of a quarterback battle in training camp, but incumbent Brian Hoyer insists he’s not threatened by reports that rookie Johnny Manziel is moving ahead of him on the depth chart.
Hoyer says he is proceeding as if he is the No. 1 quarterback in Cleveland.
"“To me, this is my team until someone else tells me otherwise,” Hoyer told reporters after Monday’s practice."
He only took snaps with the first unit on Monday after an exhibition opener at Detroit Saturday night during which he completed 6-of-14 passes for 92 yards. The three drives he led yielded just six points for the Browns, with two field goals and a punt.
"“Just continue to get better, know the system better,” Hoyer said Monday. “Going back and watching the film [from Saturday night], there are a few reads I would have liked to read differently. So you learn from those mistakes and you try to build on it.”"
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Manziel, the much-ballyhooed first-round pick and former Heisman Trophy winner from Texas A&M, played with the second unit against the Lions and was 7-for-11 for 63 yards passing and ran six times for 27 yards.
Hoyer, a journeyman entering his sixth NFL season, has spent time with the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals before coming to Cleveland last year. He made three starts—with the Browns winning all three—before tearing his ACL in the first quarter of Cleveland’s 37-24 win over the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 3.
Hoyer completed 59.4 percent of his throws for 615 yards and five touchdowns with three interceptions in his three starts last season.