The second-round restricted free agent tender has turned into a kiss of death for quarterback Brian Hoyer.
He got one from the Patriots in 2012 and then wound up getting cut by the team before the start of the season. Hoyer bounced from the Steelers to the Cardinals, who gave him the same second-round tender as a restricted free agent this year.
And now he’s looking for work again. Adam Caplan of TheSidelineView.com reports that the Cardinals have placed Hoyer on waivers.
The move doesn’t come as a big surprise. The Cardinals were reportedly shopping Hoyer for a trade during the draft since the acquisitions of Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton meant Hoyer was going to be the third-string quarterback if he wound up on the roster in Arizona at all. With 2012 sixth-rounder Ryan Lindley on the roster, the Cardinals didn’t need to pay Hoyer $2.023 million to play that role.
Hoyer will now look for a team interested in bolstering their depth chart at quarterback. The best guess is that his salary will ensure he clears waivers, although we for sure until the Cardinals make the move official and Hoyer’s name is forwarded to the other 31 teams. There’s not much else on the market at this point in the offseason, which means Hoyer should be high on a list that also includes Tyler Thigpen and Tim Tebow.