The Houston Texans are coming into 2014 after having the worst record in the NFL and after drafting rookie Tom Savage and signing Ryan Fitzpatrick, new head coach Bill O'Brien may want some more QB options and a potential trade for Matt McGloin with the Oakland Raiders or Ryan Mallett with the New England Patriots could be options if O'Brien feels the team would be better with a different starter and those two names could be bridge options until Savage develops and is ready to play.
The Texans look to be set with their quarterback situation despite the connections and while it's rare that a trade goes down this later in the offseason, it's still an option for Houston as long as Andre Johnson is staying away from team activities. According to ESPN.com, Johnson has not yet demanded a trade, but the Texans may not have another choice if he continues to stay away from team workouts and later with mandatory camp. O'Brien has connections to both players, as he was QB coach in New England and McGloin was his starter when he was at Penn State and both could be solid options for the Texans.
ESPN.com reported that there was some interest for the Texans regarding Mallett, but the Patriots did not go through with a deal even though they drafted Jimmy Garoppolo. The team wants Garoppolo to step up for Mallett as the backup in the future, but they don't want to put too much pressure on him and that is one reason why he is still there. The same could be said for the Raiders and McGloin, as they have Derek Carr coming in and may not want to feed him to the fire just yet either.
The Texans started off the offseason by trading away quarterback Matt Schaub to the Raiders and now the team could look there again for a short-term starter. Fitzpatrick got money guaranteed from the Texans, but he is not Tom Brady, while Savage is going to need some time to develop into a starter. The Raiders come into the season after going 4-12 and they have Schaub coming in and they are hopeful that he can turn things around after having a down season with the Texans that saw him benched for Case Keenum and now the team is hoping he can bounce back.
The Raiders ranked 25th in passing yards per game last season while McGloin split time with Terrelle Pryor as the starters are now he could be the backup for Schaub if he stays with the Raiders,. Dennis Allen had high praise for him during the offseason and the team opted to stick with him over Pryor, who was traded to the Seahawks. The Texans went 2-14 during the season last year and ended up losing 14 straight games after opening 2-0 and that is just one of the reasons why Johnson has stayed away during the offseason.
