The New England Patriots are looking for a Ryan Mallett trade and the team could have a partner in the Houston Texans if Mallett plays well this preseason, as the Pats may give Jimmy Garoppolo the chance to take over as the backup for Tom Brady and trade Mallett, as he is heading towards free agency and Bill Belichick would love nothing more than to get a draft pick for him.
The Patriots looked at trading Mallett earlier in the offseason but did not find too much to their liking and now they could try to deal him before the preseason is over. Pro Football Talk reports that the Pats are hoping to showcase Mallett in August for teams and on top of that, the team is hoping that Jimmy Garoppolo can catch on as the backup for Tom Brady, which would make it easier to deal Mallett.
According to Boston.com, Mallett was not at practice for the team on Sunday and while that doesn't mean anything when it comes to the trade, it could signal something for Bill Belichick and how he wants to handle Mallett this preseason. Mallett played in the first preseason game of the season and Tom Brady did not, allowing Mallett and Jimmy Garoppolo to handle the offense against the Washington Redskins in Week 1 of the preseason.
Mallett may have been absent to get some rest and Boston.com also reported that he took a few hard hits in the game against the Redskins and he also had an awkward slide in the first quarter of the game. Mallett hasn't had much playing time in his career, but he has been a good soldier since being drafted by the Patriots and serving as Tom Brady's backup and now Belichick may look at trading him.
The Patriots hade holding onto three quarterbacks and if they feel that Garoppolo is handling the backup job well, they could offload Mallett. The team likely wants to deal Mallett, as they drafted him a few years ago and now he is heading into the final year of his deal and that means it's time to flip him for something. The Houston Texans keep popping up because Bill O'Brien previously worked with Mallett and the team could use another QB in the mix.
The Texans appear happy to go along with Ryan Fitzpatrick, but that likely will not get it done and adding Mallet would be an upgrade to the backup position as well. The Patriots drafted Mallett with the idea of trading him eventually and now they could get that chance depending on how things play out in the preseason this year.
The Patriots have Tom Brady at QB and if he suffers and injury that would be tough, but if Belichick gives Garoppolo the starting job, it means he and the team feels that he would be ready to take over if that happened. The Patriots are once again the favorites in the AFC East and they want every roster spot they can get so the team would love to trade Mallett if Garoppolo is ready to take over.
