The New England Patriots may look at a Ryan Mallett trade this preseason and the Houston Texans could be the main target if Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tom Savage struggle, as the Pats want to give Jimmy Garoppolo a chance to backup Tom Brady and Texans head coach Bill O'Brien could be open to a deal after previously working with Mallett in NE.
According to Pro Football Talk, the Patriots are hoping to showcase Mallett in the preseason and that could eventually could deal him and allow Garoppolo to take over as the backup. The Patriots would love to keep that extra roster spot and not use it for three QBs and a trade would help that. The Texans did not look good in their loss in the first preseason game and they got time from Tom Savage, Fitzpatrick as well as Case Keenum and no one looked all that impressive.
The Patriots took Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round of the draft and while they think he can one day be a starter when Brady retires, right now they are eyeing him as the backup. The team may have kept Mallett to give themselves insurance if Garoppolo did not grasp the playbook or develop fast enough, but if he shows enough it could lead to a deal for Mallett. The Patriots have Mallett and Garoppolo as options for Tom Brady's backup and Jimmy could move up if he plays well in the preseason.
Garoppolo looked good in the first preseason game for the Patriots and he led the team in passing yards with 157 and he also had a touchdown. Mallett also got some time and he had 12 passes and completed just five and had 55 yards passing and that obviously didn't jump off the stat sheet, but it's only the first preseason game. Garoppolo was nine of 13 and he looked solid running the offense and that could get the team to pull the trigger on a deal eventually.
The Texans are coming into the season after going 2-14 and they traded away last year's starter Matt Schaub to the Oakland Raiders. The team has Fitzpatrick coming in and he is making guaranteed money, so he isn't going anywhere, but the team has no one really behind him with Tom Savage and Case Keenum and that's why a deal could go down. O'Brien worked with Mallett in New England and that's why he is mentioned as a possibility and the Texans will have to decide if that's a move they want to make.