With the free agent period still more than 24 hours away, the Texans are prepared to snatch a pair of top quarterbacks off the board. Having already reached a verbal agreement with Brian Hoyer, the team has also agreed to terms with Ryan Mallett, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Per Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston (via Twitter), it’s a two-year deal, and Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com tweets that it’s worth $7MM.
Mallett, 26, was acquired by the Texans in a trade with the Patriots last offseason, and got a chance to start a couple games for Houston in 2014 before landing on injured reserve due to a pectoral injury. Mallett’s 54.7% completion percentage and 67.6 passer rating likely didn’t have teams burning up his agent’s phone this weekend, but Texans GM Rick Smith and head coach Bill O’Brien both spoke very highly of the ex-Patriot at the combine, suggesting the two sides would probably get something done.
With Mallett, Hoyer, Case Keenum, and Tom Savage all in the fold for the Texans, the team will almost certainly cut ties with Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was the primary starter in 2014. If and when Fitzpatrick becomes a free agent, the Jets will pursue him, tweets Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. New York GM Mike Maccagnan was in the Texans’ front office a year ago when the team added Fitzpatrick.