The Houston Texans may have a new quarterback next year and a Jay Cutler trade could be an option along with RG3, while names like Mark Sanchez, Brian Hoyer, Michael Vick and Shaun Hill along with Sam Bradford, Blaine Gabbert, Jake Locker and Christian Ponder could be targets over Ryan Mallett for Bill O'Brien in 2015.
The Texans passed up the chance to draft Blake Bortles, Teddy Bridgewater or Johnny Manziel this year to select Jadeveon Clowney and now they may need to bring in a new starter. The team acquired Mallett from the Patriots after signing Ryan Fitzpatrick and drafting Tom Savage, but injuries forced the team to shuffle things around. Now moving forward the franchise may try and bring in a new quarterback via a trade, or they could look at the free agent market.
Jay Cutler and Robert Griffin III have their futures a bit up in the air right now and while it's no certainty that they could be traded, the way things have gone this season leave that as a possibility. Fitzpatrick was solid for the Texans, but he was benched and only got back into the lineup after Mallett was injured. The Texans also used Case Keenum this season and O'Brien has to wonder how good his team would have been had they had a strong quarterback all season playing with some consistency.
The free agent market has a mediocre crop of quarterbacks, but having one starter through the season could be a huge help for the Texans. The team has a ton of offensive talent with Andre Johnson, Arian Foster and DeAndre Hopkins and if they had a better QB, they could be in the mix to win the division. While the team is alive for a wild card spot, they need some major help and now O'Brien will have to decide what his move is for the team next season.
Savage could be an option but he is more of a long term solution, while Keenum has played for the team in each of the past two seasons. Cutler and his future is likely tied to what the Bears do with Marc Trestman, while Griffin likely has kept his job after a couple solid starts at the end of the season. Mark Sanchez has been up and down for the Eagles and he will be the top free agent quarterback on the market, while Michael Vick also could garner some attention.
Matt Moore will also be on the market along with Brian Hoyer and the most intriguing name to watch is Sam Bradford. Bradford is not going to be a free agent, but after injuring his knee again, the Rams may look at releasing him and his over $16 million cap hit. Matt Schaub, Josh McCown, Matt Cassel and Bradford are all players that could get released and if that happens, the Texans likely will take looks at them. Schaub was traded from the team last year, so he is likely not a fit, but he will be available and could come cheaply. The Texans rank 26th in the league in passing yards per game heading into Week 17 and with such great skill players at WR, they could use a major upgrade at QB.
