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The feel-good story of local quarterback Brian Hoyer came to an abrupt end Thursday night as the Cleveland Browns quarterback tore his ACL in the first quarter, according to head coach Rob Chudzinski. Chudzinski had a conference call with reporters Friday afternoon and said the following:
"I just got word back on the MRI for Brian Hoyer. It is a torn ACL that will require surgery. There is no other damage besides the ACL. Obviously he'll be out for the season."
It's a tough loss for the Browns, but they will need to find a way to rebound from this. They already did it; after Hoyer left the game, the Browns put 37 points on the board on offense, defense, and special teams. For the foreseeable future, Brandon Weeden will be back under center.
Some fans think that kills the Browns' chances this season, but I'm not in that boat. I still have confidence in the guy who was this team's starting quarterback throughout all of the offseason programs and for the first two games of the regular season. Did he look slow and out-of-place against the Bills Thursday night? Most definitely.
Keep in mind that Weeden basically had not practiced for three weeks. He hasn't had practice reps with a guy like Josh Gordon since the preseason, and I'm guessing he never even practiced handing the ball off to Willis McGahee. Despite all that, Weeden finished 13-of-24 for 197 yards, 1 TD, and 0 INTs. We know that Hoyer did a better job of getting rid of the ball quicker, but we have to put our faith in Weeden now and hope for the best.
Chudzinski on why he thinks he can get Weeden to succeed: "Because we have no other choice." #Browns
— Tom Reed (@treed1919) October 4, 2013
The Browns will likely go out and sign another quarterback for depth purposes. Jason Campbell will be the backup quarterback again, but I don't think there is a chance he will replace Weeden as the starter. A lot of people are throwing Josh Freeman's name around since he was just released.
As far as other injuries go, Desmond Bryant is fine after having shortness of breath against the Bills, and Chris Ogbonnaya is being treated for concussion symptoms.