Brian Hoyer

Patriots backup quarterback Brian Hoyer signed his restricted free agent tender this week, a league source confirmed Friday. Hoyer has a one-year deal for a guaranteed $1.92 million and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2013. The Patriots placed the second-round tender on Hoyer. If another club signed him to an offer sheet and the Patriots didn't match it, that team would have had to yield a second-round pick to the Patriots. But there wasn't a team willing to part with a second-round pick for the 6-foot-2-inch, 215-pound Ohio native.

CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. - Backup quarterback Brian Hoyer is happy to be staying with the Patriots for another season, which will be his fourth since the team signed him as an undrafted rookie out of Michigan State in 2009. The Patriots' only restricted free agent this season, Hoyer was tendered at the second-round level, meaning had another club signed him to an offer sheet that New England declined to match, the new team would have had to send a second-round pick in this month's draft in exchange for Hoyer.

By Steve Silva, Boston.com FOXBOROUGH -- Thursday night's starting quarterback Brian Hoyer overcame a rough start but he got the Patriots offense rolling and his team cruised to a 47-12 romp over the Jaguars in the preseason opener at Gillette Stadium. "After those first two series — obviously, the first play and then having a three-and-out — we just wanted to get out there and pick up the pace and I think that kind of gets you in the rhythm a little bit and we started to move the ball a little bit better," Hoyer said.

Patriots backup quarterback Brian Hoyer is happy to be staying with New England for another season, his fourth since the team signed him as an undrafted rookie in 2009 out of Michigan State. The Pats' only restricted free agent this offseason, Hoyer was tendered by the team at the second-round level. With so many teams in need of a good starter at the position, it was assumed that there would be interest in him; though he got just 12 snaps and one pass attempt in relief of Tom Brady last season, the Patriots believe Hoyer is ready to be a starter.

CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. - Backup quarterback Brian Hoyer is happy to be staying with the Patriots for another season, which will be his fourth since the team signed him as an undrafted rookie out of Michigan State in 2009. The Patriots' only restricted free agent this season, Hoyer was tendered at the second-round level, meaning had another club signed him to an offer sheet that New England declined to match, the new team would have had to send a second-round pick in this month's draft in exchange for Hoyer.

The Patriots tendered restricted free agent Brian Hoyer, the backup to quarterback Tom Brady, at the second-round level. That means Hoyer could return on a one-year, $1.927 million deal. But it also means, however, that another team could sign Hoyer to an offer sheet, which the Patriots would have an opportunity to match. If the Patriots failed to match, the new team would relinquish a second-round pick to New England. A team that loses out on the Peyton Manning sweepstakes and doesn't want to pony up for Green Bay's Matt Flynn could find Hoyer an appealing...

The New England Patriots have announced the signings of wide receiver Donte' Stallworth and quarterback Brian Hoyer. Stallworth spent the 2007 season with the Patriots when they went 18-0 before losing the Super Bowl to the New York Giants. He had 46 catches during the regular season. Stallworth had 17 receptions with Cleveland in 2008, two with Baltimore in 2010 and 22 with Washington last year. He was suspended for the 2009 season by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for violating the league's personal conduct policy for a DUI vehicular...

The New England Patriots on Friday signed restricted free agent quarterback Brian Hoyer, and officially announced the addition of receiver Donte' Stallworth. Terms of the contracts were not disclosed. Stallworth, 31, who agreed to the deal earlier in the week, spent the 2007 season with New England and finished with 46 receptions for 697 yards and three touchdowns. Hoyer, 26, has been the backup for three seasons to Tom Brady. He has played in 13 games, throwing for 286 yards and a touchdown.

By Greg A. Bedard, Globe Staff Backup quarterback Brian Hoyer signed his restricted free agent tender in the past day, a league source confirmed. Hoyer will make $1.92 million this season. A team would have needed to surrender a second-round pick if it signed Hoyer to an offer sheet. There wasn't much of a market at that level, and the Patriots think too much of Hoyer to part with a pick, say, around the fifth round. This is a pretty good deal for Hoyer when you consider that if he was drafted in 2009 -- he was undrafted out of Michigan State -- he would be making the minimum this season.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Notre Dame's offense got into the end zone - twice, in fact. It wasn't nearly enough to end the misery for the Fighting Irish. For the first time in 119 seasons of Notre Dame football, the Irish are 0-4. Michigan State, which blew a big lead to Notre Dame a year ago in a loss that sent its season into a tailspin, got a measure of revenge against the floundering Fighting Irish with a 31-14 victory yesterday. Now it's Notre Dame's season that's spinning out of control.

Patriots backup quarterback Brian Hoyer signed his restricted free agent tender this week, a league source confirmed Friday. Hoyer has a one-year deal for a guaranteed $1.92 million and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2013. The Patriots placed the second-round tender on Hoyer. If another club signed him to an offer sheet and the Patriots didn't match it, that team would have had to yield a second-round pick to the Patriots. But there wasn't a team willing to part with a second-round pick for the 6-foot-2-inch, 215-pound Ohio native.

Patriots backup quarterback Brian Hoyer signed his restricted free agent tender this week, a league source confirmed Friday. Hoyer has a one-year deal for a guaranteed $1.92 million and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2013. The Patriots placed the second-round tender on Hoyer. If another club signed him to an offer sheet and the Patriots didn't match it, that team would have had to yield a second-round pick to the Patriots. But there wasn't a team willing to part with a second-round pick for the 6-foot-2-inch, 215-pound Ohio native.

The New England Patriots on Friday signed restricted free agent quarterback Brian Hoyer, and officially announced the addition of receiver Donte' Stallworth. Terms of the contracts were not disclosed. Stallworth, 31, who agreed to the deal earlier in the week, spent the 2007 season with New England and finished with 46 receptions for 697 yards and three touchdowns. Hoyer, 26, has been the backup for three seasons to Tom Brady. He has played in 13 games, throwing for 286 yards and a touchdown.

The New England Patriots have announced the signings of wide receiver Donte' Stallworth and quarterback Brian Hoyer. Stallworth spent the 2007 season with the Patriots when they went 18-0 before losing the Super Bowl to the New York Giants. He had 46 catches during the regular season. Stallworth had 17 receptions with Cleveland in 2008, two with Baltimore in 2010 and 22 with Washington last year. He was suspended for the 2009 season by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for violating the league's personal conduct policy for a DUI vehicular manslaughter charge.

The Patriots tendered restricted free agent Brian Hoyer, the backup to quarterback Tom Brady, at the second-round level. That means Hoyer could return on a one-year, $1.927 million deal. But it also means, however, that another team could sign Hoyer to an offer sheet, which the Patriots would have an opportunity to match. If the Patriots failed to match, the new team would relinquish a second-round pick to New England. A team that loses out on the Peyton Manning sweepstakes and doesn't want to pony up for Green Bay's Matt Flynn could find Hoyer an appealing option.

It was the start of a new year - a new league year - for the National Football League Tuesday, with the day's most significant event the start of free agency. While some of the more predictable teams rushed out to sign, and in some cases, overpay, players they'd set their sights on (hello, Redskins), other teams either couldn't spend a lot of money or were content to watch the market unfold. The Patriots didn't sign any of the big-name players who officially became available at 4 p.m., though multiple league sources reported New England was expected to make...

It was the start of a new year - a new league year - for the National Football League Tuesday, with the day's most significant event the start of free agency. While some of the more predictable teams rushed out to sign, and in some cases, overpay, players they'd set their sights on (hello, Redskins), other teams either couldn't spend a lot of money or were content to watch the market unfold. The Patriots didn't sign any of the big-name players who officially became available at 4 p.m., though multiple league sources reported New England was expected to make a run at Seahawks defensive...