Don’t expect the Patriots to trade Ryan Mallett
Despite the New England Patriots drafting Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round of the NFL Draft, ESPN’s Adam Schefter says don’t expect Ryan Mallett to be traded at this point.
Definitely would not count on a Ryan Mallett trade to Houston or anywhere. Mallett expected back in Foxboro.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 10, 2014
When the Houston Texans decided to go with Jadeveon Clowney instead of a top-ranked quarterback such as Johnny Manziel, a Texas native, or Teddy Bridgewater, many thought it’d be a foregone conclusion that the Texans and Patriots would come to an agreement that’d make Ryan Mallett the starting quarter in Houston by the start of the season.
With Garoppolo in the picture, Mallet’s value likely takes a dip as the Patriots go from Mallet being a need to a luxury. He’s been on the market for the past two years, but teams just refuse to surrender a second- or third-round pick for a quarterback who may not be all that talented. There’s this idea that young players will steadily improve as they sit behind Hall of Fame quarterbacks, Tom Brady being such and Aaron Rodgers being one of the few examples of how sitting can help a player, but Mallett was never a high-ranking quarterback talent to begin with. We saw how Matt Cassel panned out once he moved on from under Bill Belichick’s wing, struggling with both the Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings. Most recently, Brian Hoyer, a former Patriots draft pick, was solid as the quarterback for the Cleveland Browns as he stepped in when Brandon Weeden went out with an injury, but an ACL injury prematurely ended his 2013-14 campaign. He’ll now fight for a starting job going into next season with first-round pick Johnny Manziel.
One thing we can attest to: even when the most trusted NFL reporters say a player is off the market, that’s no official guarantee. The Houston Texans have yet to take a quarterback the draft and as they draw things out, measuring their options, Bill Belichick could get a phone call with an offer he can’t refuse, moving the seldom-used quarterback. But for now Mallett will enter training camp as the second quarterback on the depth chart behind Brady and ahead of Garoppolo.