on may 16, hoyer was signed by the cleveland browns to a two-year deal. on september 18, in relief of then-starter brandon weeden, who was out with a thumb injury, the browns skipped over second string jason campbell and named him the starting quarterback for the week 3 game against the minnesota vikings. he threw for 321 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions in the team's first win of the season. it was announced later in the week that hoyer would be the browns' starting quarterback for week 4 against division rival cincinnati bengals, as weeden remained out with a thumb injury. hoyer led the browns to another win, completing 25-of-38 passes for 269 yards and 2 touchdowns, along with throwing no interceptions in a 17–6 victory. the next day on september 30, hoyer was named the starter for a third straight game, thursday night football vs the buffalo bills. despite being named starter for three straight games, hoyer was not declared the official starter for the remainder of the 2013 season by cleveland head coach rob chudzinski, who referred to the situation as "a week-to-week thing." he later added that, if hoyer continued to exceed expectations, he would maintain his starting position. however, hoyer sustained an acl tear in the thursday night game versus the buffalo bills, ending his promising season.