The Cleveland Browns may have a dilemma after the season if they sign Brian Hoyer to a free agent contract long term after his success this season, as Johnny Manziel will be waiting in the wings and one option could be a trade to the Dallas Cowboys, as Jerry Jones wanted to draft Manziel and he could acquire him as a future replacement for Tony Romo in Texas after the season.
The Browns want to lock up Hoyer, but he is having a solid season and may want to hit the free agent market to see how much money he can make. Earlier this year reports came out that Hoyer did not want to sign a contract with the Browns if Manziel was still there behind him, but later his reps came out to deny those claims. Either way, Jerry Jones made it clear that he liked Manziel and seriously though about drafting him this year.
While he didn't do that, it is in the realm of possibility that the two sides could make a move depending on how things go with Hoyer. Romo is dealing with back issues and has a crazy big contract and that means he can't be moved, so perhaps Jones could go for a cheaper and team-controlling option like Manziel for a few years.
CBS Sports put together a nice article about the dilemma that the Browns face moving forward, as Hoyer has played well and now could command a nice contract this offseason. There are a ton of teams that will need quarterbacks and he could get poached by another team if Cleveland isn't careful and that could wreck all the goodwill the team has built up with the fan base this season. Hoyer is a home town guy and he has been nothing but calm when it comes to the Manziel stuff and he has brushed that aside and has let his play do the talking.
The CBS Sports article takes things and puts it in context, saying that while Hoyer has not had the greatest stats this season, his success as a starter should allow him to parlay things into a multiyear contract. According to league sources, the Browns and Hoyer have not yet had contract talks about a deal and right now Hoyer is playing on a $1.965 million contract that will expire after this season after two years with the team. The Browns may look at signing a lesser deal with Hoyer to keep things at a reasonable price while working out a longer extension, but Hoyer may not want to risk that moving forward.
The team can use a tag on him for next season and that could be up to $16 million for the transition tag and while that's a lot, the Browns are expected to have a nice amount of cap space next year. The Carson Palmer deal is interesting to look at for Hoyer, as he has not had the same success, but he is younger than Palmer and that was for three years, which is in the wheel house of what Hoyer would be asking for. Adding to that is the fact that Palmer is now out for the season after one bad twist of his knee and that will be taken into account as well.