Patriots to re-sign veteran Brian Hoyer, bringing quarterback depth chart to four

The quarterback depth chart will again stand at four for the New England Patriots.

New England intends to re-sign veteran Brian Hoyer, his agency, JL Sports, announced Monday night. The reported one-year agreement between the two sides was first shared by the Boston Globe’s Jim McBride.

Hoyer, 35, had been an unrestricted free agent since the 2021 league year opened in March. He will now return as insurance in a QB room that includes incumbent Cam Newton as well as Jarrett Stidham and April first-round draft pick Mac Jones out of Alabama.

Last spring marked Hoyer’s third stint with New England. He would start one game in the Covid-19 absence of the aforementioned Newton, going 15-of-24 passing for 130 yards with one interception, one fumble and a pair of sacks against the Kansas City Chiefs in October. A string of weeks among the team’s inactives followed as Stidham, a 2019 draft arrival, took over second-in-command duties.

The Patriots originally signed Hoyer as an undrafted rookie in 2009. The Michigan State product, who later reconvened in 2017 after the trading of Jimmy Garoppolo, has also been a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers and Indianapolis Colts during his NFL tenure.

Hoyer’s career spans 52 touchdowns and 35 interceptions over the course of 70 games and 39 starts in the regular season. He has completed 59.2 percent of his pass attempts for 10,404 yards.

The second phase of New England’s voluntary offseason workout program began Monday.