Patriots’ Ryan Mallett traded to the Texans
By Mike Dyce
There have been rumblings about New England Patriots back up quarterback Ryan Mallett’s future with the club for a while now, and he has been primarily linked to the Houston Texans. The day after NFL teams cut their rosters down to 53-men, the Patriots finally parted ways with Mallett, sending him to the Houston Texans in a trade.
Ryan Mallett has been traded to the #Texans, source says
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 31, 2014
It is undisclosed at the moment what the Patriots are getting in return in the deal.
The move isn’t necessarily surprising with Eastern Illinois’ Jimmy Garoppolo on the roster and making the cut to stay behind starter Tom Brady. The Patriots didn’t need to carry three quarterbacks into the season and this way they were able to use Mallett’s trade value to their benefit.
In Houston, Mallett joins Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tom Savage and Case Keenum. One of those three would likely be dropped, not only to create the roster spot if a player doesn’t go back to New England in the trade, but because they don’t need four quarterbacks carried on their roster.
It doesn’t seem to indicate that the Texans had very much faith in any of their quarterbacks.
[UPDATE:]
Case Keenum released
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) August 31, 2014
[UPDATE:]
Texans giving up a conditional 7th rd pick in 2016.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) August 31, 2014