Patriots Definitely Should've Leveraged Brian Hoyer Into a Trade

With the NFL's Saturday cutdown deadline came a number of surprising cuts, trades and signings. At the center of a lot of those surprises were the New England Patriots.

After releasing veteran receiver Demaryius Thomas, the team also surprisingly cut backup quarterback Brian Hoyer before the 4:00 pm EST deadline on Saturday.

By releasing Hoyer, the Patriots are betting on rookie fourth-round pick Jarrett Stidham. The young quarterback out of Auburn has impressed this preseason, resulting in New England trusting him with the keys to the backup job.

Even if Hoyer was unimpressive during the preseason, the veteran quarterback has a resume that theoretically should've been conducive to a trade. There are plenty of teams in the market for a veteran quarterback, and they'll now get that chance for free with Hoyer.

Even a conditional late pick would be worth pulling the trigger, especially if the Patriots' intentions were to release Tom Brady's long-time backup.

Regardless, the Patriots are taking a risk in trusting a fourth-round pick to be the backup quarterback. It's a storyline to follow as the season progresses, especially knowing Brady's age.