San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brian Hoyer made an appearance on ESPN’s NFL Live program on Monday, serving as a guest for the entire 90-minute program. I can’t find video of it, but they have a podcast version of it here.
It was rather amusing if awkward timing for his appearance. The show ran from 10:30 a.m. to noon PT, which meant it finished an hour before the deadline for Kirk Cousins and Washington to try and negotiate a contract extension. There was plenty of other football to talk (Dave Gettleman firing, other franchise players, Ezekiel Elliott’s off-field stuff), but Cousins was a big part of it.
I suggest it was a little awkward because there have been a lot of rumors that Cousins will end up with the 49ers in 2018, and if that happens, it means Brian Hoyer will be losing his starting job. That’s a reality in the NFL, but rarely do we see the topic and and the subject so closely connected in a media appearance.
Although at times it was a little awkward, Hoyer was pretty comfortable discussing Cousins. He got one specific question about it, and offered up the usual cliche about controlling what he can control.
“Well first off, it’s good to see two Spartans up there getting paid. Look, this is 2017. Kirk’s going to be Washington, I’m going to be in San Francisco. That’s really all you can worry about. You can control what you can control and go out there and do the best you can. I think that’s the one thing of this tumultuous career that I’ve had – you’ve had some highs and some lows — just don’t worry about things you can’t control because it really doesn’t do you any good.”
The show ended with a rather awkward moment. The host, Dianna Russini closed out saying something about how it’s possible they could end up teammates once again (they overlapped for one year at Michigan State). Hoyer sort of shrugged and said, “Sure,” and the program ended. It was just a little awkward.
Although Hoyer could very well lose his job in 2018, he is in a pretty good position in 2017. He knows the system, and Kyle Shanahan has made it quite clear that he will be the starting quarterback. There’s always room for something crazy to happen, but it seems safe to assume that if Hoyer remains healthy, he’ll hold onto the job the entire season.
That doesn’t guarantee anything beyond 2017, but for now, he is in as comfortable a position as a quarterback of his skill and experience can really expect. The 49ers will constantly be looking to improve, but at the very least he gets one year where he’s in the saddle and can show what he’s got.