Cleveland Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer tore his ACL on Thursday against the Buffalo Bills and will miss the remainder of the season. While Brandon Weeden is expected to take over again as starter, the second-year pro may not remain there for long - is former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman now a viable option to bring in?
Hoyer seemingly came out of nowhere to propel Cleveland to two straight wins. Making his third start for the Browns on Thursday, Hoyer suffered the knee injury in the first quarter after sliding to avoid a hit.
Browns coach Rob Chudzinski confirmed Hoyer's ACL tear on Friday.
"He's been a big part of what we've done the last couple of weeks," Chudzinski said, via USA Today Sports. "I think it was a little bit of a shock for the guys at first."
Weeden replaced Hoyer under center and completed 13-of-24 passes for 197 yards and one touchdown, helping Cleveland to a 37-24 victory.
Despite the win, Weeden isn't Cleveland's quarterback of the future. Neither is Freeman, according to Marc Sessler of NFL.com.
"The long-term plan in Cleveland - at least before Hoyer hit the scene - was using May's draft to select the team's quarterback of tomorrow. Adding Freeman to the mix would only disrupt the chemistry of a young team playing hard," Sessler wrote on Friday. "Besides, Freeman isn't a guy you can start right away. He's not a cerebral passer and, on the field, he's not much of an upgrade over Weeden."
NFL analyst Greg Cosell said Freeman is "very erractic with his accuracy and ... does not see the field well," two things that may relegate the 25-year-old to a career as a backup quarterback.
Depending on how poorly Cleveland finishes the season, the club could have a shot at drafting Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who's expected to be the first signal caller off the board.
