NFL Player News

The Browns have signed quarterback Brian Hoyer, according to multiple reports.

New Dolphins receiver Mike Wallace told the Miami Herald that his new quarterback's arm is as strong, if not stronger, than his old quarterback's arm. In a quick comparison of both passers Wallace noted both are former receivers and both developed chemistry with him early on. "Both have strong arms," Wallace said. "Ryan has a cannon, can really fling it. ... [He] may be able to throw the ball a little farther than Ben. Obviously, Ben is more experienced in game-time experience. The way it's going, it won't take long for Ryan to be one of the great quarterbacks. I feel like we can make a lot of big plays."

The Cardinals have waived quarterback Brian Hoyer. Signed off waivers by the Steelers in December, the Cards gave him a second-round tender as a restricted free agent and tried to trade him but couldn't find a trade partner.

The New York Post reports Jets decision-makers are "in love" with rookie quarterback Geno Smith, who impressed during a recent minicamp both on and off the field. He held a players only meeting at the team hotel to work on the playbook, he handled the media with aplomb and threw well during practices. The report believes Smith did so well that he could eventually take over for David Garrard, not Mark Sanchez, when the season gets going.

A full practice report of the Jets' first day of rookie minicamp by ESPN revealed rookie quarterback Geno Smith went 11 of 15 passing in 7-on-7 drills with a drop before going 6 of 10 in team drills. The report noticed he threw fast balls into tight spaces but also was a little slow to throw a few times. According to the New York Post, Smith gave himself an "F" for his first day. "I've been studying my butt off, learning formations, learning protections," Smith said. "I had 'install one' two days ago and had to learn every single play and be able to go into the huddle and tell it to my teammates and go out there and execute it. I think I did a good job overall today. There were some bumps in the road. Those are things I think I can clean up."

New Jets rookie quarterback Geno Smith is doing damage control after a rocky start to his NFL career. First, he slipped to the second round of the NFL Draft. Then he promptly parted ways with his agents. In an interview with USA Today, Smith addressed recent anonymous criticisms about his game. "I don't worry about what people say -- my skin is pretty thick," Smith said. "I've never been in trouble." The quarterback also denied a Yahoo.com report that he was more interested in texting and tweeting than meeting with at least one NFL team prior to the draft. "That's not true," he said. "I got strong remarks from all the teams I visited with. ... I couldn't care less what's coming out in the media because I know what's true." Smith also said that his draft-day free fall from a sure-fire first-round pick to ultimately going to the Jets with the 39th selection wasn't why he fired his agents.

In the wake of firing his agents after falling to the second round on Draft Day, Yahoo Sports reports quarterback Geno Smith's tumble was in part because of how he handled his business with coaches in visits before the draft. Apparently there are some leadership and mental issues that concerned teams who looked into Smith. During visits, Smith would play on his cell phone rather than talk with coaches and executives. Multiple sources told Yahoo Sports fellow quarterback E.J. Manuel was much more receptive. "His biggest problem is that he doesn't know what he doesn't know," a league executive familiar with Smith said. "I'm not sure he knows how to take instruction because he pretty much wouldn't listen or talk to our coaches … he's talented. He can sling it, he can fit it into tight spots, he can do a lot of things and I think he wants to be good. But you can't tell him anything right now. He's tuned out because he thinks he's got it all down."

Dolphins offensive coordinator Mike Sherman promised the official team website that quarterback Ryan Tannehill will be "the most improved quarterback in the National Football League from year one to year two this year." Tannehill had a quality rookie season in 2012 with 3,294 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions and 214 rushing yards and two touchdowns and saw the team add talent around him in Mike Wallace, Brandon Gibson and tight end Dustin Keller. "I thought he had a good rookie year for what we asked him to do," Sherman said. "Now, with us building up some more weaponry around him, I think he'll be even better this upcoming year. So we're excited to get on the field and start practicing, OTAs and mini-camp, and see where we’re at."

The Jaguars official team website reports that quarterback Blaine Gabbert is the favorite to win the starting job coming into the season. The report says the Jaguars have not decided anything, but they believe Gabbert has the talent to be successful. Gabbert must win the job, and he must outplay Chad Henne to do so.

USA Today reports that Ryan Nassib was supposed to be new Bills coach Doug Marrone's guy with the No. 8 overall pick or when Nassib's former Syracuse coach traded down to the 16th overall spot Thursday. But when Marrone selected former Florida State quarterback E.J. Manuel to be his guy, Nassib's stock tumbled. That is, until New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese and coach Tom Coughlin stopped his fall at pick No. 110 on Day 3. Reese is always guided by the best-available value atop his board. The Giants likely view Nassib as a backup upgrade over David Carr behind two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Eli Manning. "If he doesn't ever play, that would be great," Giants general manager Jerry Reese said. "That's a good problem to have. If he needs to play, we're hoping that whatever time that is that he'll be up and ready to go."