Patriots News: New England ‘not that interested’ in Ryan Mallett trade

Mandatory Credit: Rob Foldy-USA TODAY Sports

After much speculation about Patriots quarterback Ryan Mallett being traded, head coach Bill Belichick seemingly put an end to those rumors this morning on Sirius XMNFL radio. The radio station shared the news via Twitter quoting Belichick saying:

"“That’s not really something that we’re that interested in”"

 The rumors began to surface when the Houston Texans and head coach Bill O’Brien, who coached Mallett his rookie year in New England, did NOT select a quarterback within the first couple of rounds in this past years draft. Instead, they selected Pittsburgh’s Tom Savage in the fourth round, as well as bringing in veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Boston Globe writer, Ben Volin, also touched on Belichick’s radio this morning. Volin quotes Belichick saying:

"“We feel like we have a good quarterback situation,” Belichick said. “That’s not a good position to not feel good about. We feel very good about the players we have at that spot.”"

The quarterback situation in New England includes more than Tom Brady and Ryan Mallett, it also includes this years second round draft choice, Jimmy Garapollo.

Garopollo’s selection is the highest selection for a quarterback in Belichick’s tenure in New England. Considering the facts, Garopollo’s selection seems evident enough to assume the Patriots have found their replacement for future Hall of Fame quarterback, Tom Brady. However, coach Bill Belichick seems happy with the current roster of quarterbacks. If not traded, it seems a battle between Garopollo and Mallett will determine who will be heir to Brady.

Ben Volin also quoted Belichick spewing the confidence he has in Mallett:

"“Ryan’s done a good job for us. Fortunately for us, but unfortunately for him, he hasn’t really had any playing time in the last three years. But he’s improved tremendously as a quarterback and as a football player, and we’ve got a lot of confidence in him.”"

Mallett would seem to fit well in Houston. Aside from reuniting with his old coach, Mallett is from Arkansas, which is just northeast of Texas.

Houston also possesses a solid running game with runningback Arian Foster. A running game that compliments a talented group of receivers in Andre Johnson, DeAndre Hopkins, and rookie TE CJ Fiedorowicz.

All in all, I see Houston developing fourth round pick, Tom Savage. Savage, who is similar to Mallett in many ways, will most likely sit behind veterans Ryan Fitzpatrick and TJ Yates. Despite his upside and potential, Savage being the quarterback of the future is tough to swallow at this point. I believe Fitzpatrick will start for Houston this year, and Bill O’Brien will bring in someone else next season. Who is that someone else? It very well could be Ryan Mallett, who could depart New England once coaches believe Jimmy Garopollo is on the right path to become the future for New England.