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Houston Texans: Adding Brian Hoyer Has Ripple Effect

By CJ Oliver

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The Houston Texans have made their contributions to an already-frenetic free agency period. Hours after announcing the release of veteran wide receiver Andre Johnson, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (via Twitter) announced the team was approaching a deal with one-time New England Patriots and former Cleveland Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer.

The team firmed up the Ryan Mallett part of that message by signing him to a two-year, $7 million contract, as reported by John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. With the signing of Mallett and Hoyer, previous starter Ryan Fitzpatrick will almost certainly be released.

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This deal with Hoyer can’t be finalized until after 4 p.m. EST Tuesday, and according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Hoyer is still weighing his options. But Houston is still the presumptive favorite for his services and that puts the Texans in a far better quarterback situation than they’ve been in for a long time.

In 2014 the team contended despite shaky play from Fitzgerald, before acquiring Mallett from the Patriots. Mallett played well in the two games he started before suffering a season-ending pectoral injury. Hoyer played well for the first half of the season, leading the Browns to a 7-4 record atop the AFC North before the team collapsed.

The signing of Hoyer and Mallett, once teammates with the New England Patriots, reunites them with current Texans head coach Bill O’Brien, who spent time with the pair in Foxborough.

This familiarity should serve Hoyer well in learning the playbook. And the two quarterbacks should already know how to play nice with each other despite the competitive atmosphere. Hoyer has made it no secret that he wants the opportunity to start and Mallett, after spending so many years behind Tom Brady, must be itching for it too. That’s exactly what the Texans could hope for in this scenario – two professional, hard-working players with potential upsides pushing each other to get better.

Nov 23, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett (15) throws in the pocket against the Cincinnati Bengals at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Meanwhile, Hoyer to the Texans was not one of the popular predictions of the past few weeks and it reshuffles the other likely scenarios concerning quarterbacks this offseason.

One of my favorite predictions was Hoyer to the Jets, who have added Brandon Marshall as a true number-one receiver. With Marshall opening up the field for Eric Decker along with the steady play of running back Chris Ivory, the Jets are only a quarterback away from a legitimately good offense.

Hoyer almost certainly would have beat out Geno Smith for the starting job. Combine that with a better defense than Cleveland’s last season and the Jets could be a possible playoff contender.

Now that Hoyer is presumably out of the mix and quarterbacks Mark Sanchez and Josh McCown off the market, the Jets must go back to the draft boards. Many mock drafts have Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota landing with the Jets.

However, there’s also an awful lot of speculation that Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelley will do everything in his power to draft Mariota. A trade up to the No. 6 pick isn’t going to come cheap – but we have seen an all-in picks deal before. Back in 1999, the New Orleans Saints (under Mike Ditka) traded all of their picks to the Washington Redskins for the No. 5 overall pick and would go on to draft running back Ricky Williams.

If Kelley is serious about landing Mariota, the price may be similar. The Jets need a quarterback but if they can get nine picks in exchange for signing, I don’t know, Ryan Fitzpatrick perhaps, they should well consider it.

If this does come to pass, and the Eagles wind up with Marcus Mariota, they’ll have to send a fruit basket to the Texans’ front office.

Next: How will the Texans Replace Andre Johnson

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