The 2000s and 2010s had some of the worst years in Cleveland Browns history. They went through a lot of quarterbacks and failed to be competitive every time. Fortunately for them.
One of the quarterbacks who was a part of the Browns’ seemingly endless QB rotation was Johnny Manziel. The Texas A&M alum was supposed to be the team’s savior when he was picked in the 2014 Draft.
However, Manziel buckled to the pressure and didn’t even last to see out the rest of his rookie contract.
As Johnny Football began to speak more about his experiences and struggles, one of his most controversial statements involved a journeyman quarterback who was with the team during his story NFL stint.
Brian Hoyer responds to Johnny Manziel’s accusations during his time with the Cleveland Browns
Brian Hoyer was named by Manziel as one of the primary reasons for his failure to adapt to the NFL. He said that Hoyer showcased aggressive behavior towards him and didn’t even try to help him adjust to the game, making the quarterback room uncomfortable for Manziel.
Manziel showed up on Good Morning Football to address the allegations that he took the opportunity to provide for his family by making him as uncomfortable on the Browns as possible.
Larry Brown of Larry Brown Sports detailed Hoyer’s response to Johnny Football:
“Look, I’ll be honest, Johnny’s right, that was an opportunity for me to go out and be the starter for my hometown team, but I was kind of apathetic toward him I would say. I didn’t go out of my way to be a jerk to him, but in the same sense, I was trying to win this job and go out and perform the best I could. I feel sorry that he feels that way about it,” Hoyer said on “Good Morning Football.”
Hoyer said he was more upset with the Browns for drafting Manziel.
“I always looked at it like, I never had any animosity toward Johnny. If anything, it was toward the owner and the GM who were always trying to push him ahead of me when clearly he wasn’t ready and I was gonna be the starter. It’s unfortunate that that left a bad taste in his mouth, but like I said, never had any animosity toward Johnny. I feel bad that he feels that way, but I don’t really recall it being that way, either.”
During Hoyer’s two years with the Cleveland Browns, he threw for 3941 passing yards and 16 touchdowns. He’s found his way across multiple NFL teams since then, with his most recent stop being the Las Vegas Raiders.
Meanwhile, Johnny Manziel didn’t last two seasons with the Browns. Through 14 games, he only completed 1675 passing yards and seven touchdowns while also throwing seven interceptions.