5 Possible Destinations for Ryan Mallett

Oct 8, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett (15) after a game against the Indianapolis Colts at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Anyone who watched HBO’s Hard Knocks remembers Ryan Mallett missing practice right after he had been told Brian Hoyer would be named the starter. Mallett talked his way out of that one, but he wasn’t quite so lucky after he missed the team’s charter flight to Miami for the Houston Texans’ Week 7 game against the Dolphins. On Tuesday the Texans decided that they’d had enough of Mallett’s tardiness, and released him (via ESPN’s Tania Ganguli).

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Mallett’s attitude has been a subject of discussion over the last several weeks, especially when he was benched in favor of Brian Hoyer during Houston’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5. Mallett, who took over the starting job in Week 1, took a hard hit in the second quarter and came out of the game. He was ready to go back in after a few plays, but head coach Bill O’Brien elected to keep Brian Hoyer in the game. Mallett was not happy about it.

Hoyer has been the starter ever since, and apparently Bill O’Brien has had enough of Mallett’s attitude. According to the Houston Chronicle’s Brian T. Smith, O’Brien wanted to cut Mallett on Sunday, but was overruled by Texans GM Rick Smith. It seems O’Brien finally got his wish, and now Mallett is looking for a new job. 

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It’s hard to imagine a team signing Mallett with the intent of making him a starter, but there are certainly a few teams out there in need of better quarterback play. There was a point when Mallett was in New England that he may be worth a first round pick, but the Texans spent only a 7th rounder on him last offseason. He’s still physically gifted, has shown flashes of great play, and spent his first several seasons in the league learning from one of the best quarterbacks in history.

The two main questions that must be raised when considering Ryan Mallett are whether or not his apparent character issues will be a problem, and whether or not a team has the coaching staff capable of coaching him into a reliable quarterback. That being said, there could be plenty of teams willing to take a chance on him as a backup.

He was good enough for Bill Belichick for a few seasons, so he may could be a decent No. 2 guy most places in the league. With a slim free agent quarterback market, there’s a few teams that Ryan Mallett will likely be receiving a call from in the coming days.

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