Football is a cruel game sometimes, and nobody knows it better than Brian Hoyer.
Hoyer's career looked dead for months. The Cleveland Browns finally took a shot on him and signed him to be their third quarterback. He got a chance to start, helped the Browns go from 0-2 to 2-2 and became the toast of Cleveland, which happens to be his hometown.
It was one of the best stories in the NFL until Hoyer slid at the end of a play on Thursday night, was hit by Bills linebacker Kiko Alonso and his knee twisted underneath him. The Browns confirmed that Hoyer is done for the season with a torn ACL suffered on the play.
#Browns coach Rob Chudzinski said Brian Hoyer has torn acl that will require surgery. be out for season.
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) October 4, 2013
By the time Hoyer is ready to play again, it's likely that the Browns will have already selected their quarterback of the future in the first round of next year's draft.
Sports can be cruel, and nobody knows it better than Cleveland fans. This Browns team was showing signs of life, and is on top of the AFC North at 3-2. Given the historic struggles of the Browns, Indians and Cavaliers, this was a reason for excitement. Maybe Brandon Weeden, who lost his starting spot when he got injured and watched as Hoyer filled in so well for him, can build off what he did in a win against the Bills last night. Perhaps he can guide the Browns through a really rough five-game stretch that's coming (vs. Detroit, at Green Bay, at Kansas City, vs. Baltimore, at Cincinnati) and keep them in contention.

But for now, it's a pretty mean twist for Hoyer and Browns fans.
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