'Were' is the key word in your response. I agree, if you compare peak performance to peak performance you take Palmer and Schaub all day every day. However; you aren't comparing peak performance. You are comparing Schuab having an unbelievably bad year where he threw more TDs to the other team than he did his own players.
To start, that's not right. He had more interceptions than touchdowns, but he threw more touchdowns to Texans (10) than pick-sixes (4).
And I used those stats to show that those QBs brought multiple years of being high-level passers into contract talks, something Hoyer does not. Earlier today I wrote about saving cap space for players with better track records than Hoyer- IMO their success over multiple years make them uncomparable to him for contract purposes.
He was not a hot commodity yet the Raiders gave him that kind of money.
Not a hot commodity? He was arguably the best available QB. Josh McCown (1 year, $5 million) and Michael Vick (1 year, $5 million) got the most money as free agents, but Schaub's restructuring of his contract (2 years, $15 million) gave him the richest contract signed by a QB this summer that switched teams.
Palmer on the other hand is a 34 year old QB who isn't the same player he was in Cincy pre knee injury. The past 3+ years he's completed 60% of his passes for a lot of yards but in those 47 games he's thrown 55 INTs.
His completion percentage is actually at 62.0% over the past four seasons, and in those 47 games he's also got 70 TDs as well.
He's not the 68% passer with 32 TDs and 12 INTs he was back in Cincy 10 seasons ago. Comparing 2014 Hoyer with 2014 Palmer and 2013 Schuab is perfectly reasonable.
Uh, 2014 Palmer blows 2014 Hoyer out of the water.
Palmer: 271.0 YPG, 7.3 YPA, 1.8 PaTDs, 1.3 INT%, 62.9 Completion %, 95.6 rating
Hoyer: 254.2 YPG, 7.8 YPA, 1.1 PaTDs, 1.5 INT%, 55.7 Completion %, 86.0 rating
Thought this would be more appropriate, 2014 stats-
Orton: 263.3 YPA, 6.9 YPA, 1.7 PaTDs, 1.3 INT%, 64.0 Completion %, 93.5 rating
Fitzpatrick: 217.8 YPA, 7.7 YPA, 1.2 PaTDs, 3.1 INT%, 61.8 Completion %, 87.1 rating
Hoyer: 254.2 YPG, 7.8 YPA, 1.1 PaTDs, 1.5 INT%, 55.7 Completion %, 86.0 rating
IMO you can't compare the SALARIES of Orton or Fitzpatrick to Hoyer's situation because they are completely different. Hoyer is going to get signed as a starting QB whether it's here or somewhere else. Orton was clearly signed as a backup/insurance policy both in Dallas and in Buffalo. Fitzpatrick was signed to a 2 year contract to compete for the starting job with a bunch of rookies and other FA type players.
Orton wasn't paid $5 million to come out of retirement to be a backup, sorry if you believe that. Hoyer is most likely going to enter a similar situation as Fitzpatrick did this year (and what Hoyer himself entered this year), where he's got the leg up on a recently drafted QB going into camp.
Houston did not think of him as a starter but a place holder until someone else is ready. Again, a different situation than Hoyer will be in this off season.
Not really. 30-year-old Brian Hoyer is nothing more than a place holder as well.