Las Vegas coach Josh McDaniels continued to tap into his New England roots on Tuesday, with the Raiders signing free-agent quarterback Brian Hoyer and adding former wide receiver Danny Amendola to his coaching staff.
The Raiders did not divulge terms of the deal for Hoyer, but his representation, JL Sports, announced it as a two-year contract.
Hoyer, 37, and McDaniels spent parts of five seasons together in New England. Hoyer had three different stints as a backup quarterback for the Patriots, and McDaniels was on coach Bill Belichick’s staff for 18 seasons, interrupted from 2009-11 during his time as head coach of the Denver Broncos and offensive coordinator of the then-St. Louis Rams.
Hoyer will reside on the depth chart behind Las Vegas offseason addition Jimmy Garoppolo, another one-time New England backup who signed a three-year, $72.75 million contract last month.
Hoyer made one start for the Patriots last season and has appeared in 76 games (40 starts) over 14 seasons with seven NFL franchises.
He is 16-24 as an NFL starter. He has completed 59.4 percent of his passes for 10,668 yards and 53 touchdowns against 35 interceptions with the Patriots (2009-11, 2017-18, 2020-22), Arizona Cardinals (2012), Cleveland Browns (2013-14), Houston Texans (2015), Chicago Bears (2016), San Francisco 49ers (2017) and Indianapolis Colts (2019).
As for Amendola, his name appeared on the Raiders website on Tuesday and was listed as coaching assistant/returners. He retired from the NFL last July after 163 games with 76 starts for the Rams (2009-12), Patriots (2013-17), Miami Dolphins (2018), Detroit Lions (2019-20) and Texans (2021). He tallied 617 career receptions for 6,212 yards receiving, 24 touchdowns and 11,761 all-purpose yards.
Now 37, he won two Super Bowls with the Patriots and crossed paths with McDaniels in both St. Louis and New England.
–Field Level Media
