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Phew.
The #Texans have agreed to terms with QB Ryan Mallett, source said. So it’ll be Hoyer & Mallett in Houston.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2015
You may not be sold on the idea that Ryan Mallett is the long-term answer for the Houston Texans at quarterback. That's an entirely rational position, as there's very little evidence to this point that Mallett is that guy. In fact, Bill O'Brien could be of the same mind, as evidenced by reports that the Houston Texans will sign Brian Hoyer to a three-year deal.
Acquired from the New England Patriots at the end of training camp in 2014 for a conditional seventh-round draft pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, Mallett stayed on the sideline, behind Ryan Fitzpatrick, until Bill O'Brien made a switch at QB before the Texans faced the Browns in Week 11. In his debut as the starting quarterback for the Houston Texans on the road in Cleveland, Mallett looked sharp and in command of the offense; perhaps Brett knew what he was talking about when he lauded the Mallett acquisition shortly after it was made in this film review.
Unfortunately, that giddiness was short-lived. The very next week, the Texans took on the Bengals in Houston, and Mallett was horrendous. We learned after the game that Mallett had played the game with a pectoral injury of some sort. It was soon learned after that revelation that the injury was severe enough that it would end Mallett's season. Ryan Mallett, in the last year of his rookie contract, had finally gotten his chance to play, and now he would enter free agency with more questions than ever about his ability to play in the NFL.
Despite the uncertainty and small sample size, Mallett reportedly intrigued teams besides the Texans as a free agent acquisition. When the "legal tampering" period opened on March 7th, the lack of a new contract between the Texans and Mallett was cause for concern in some camps.
As The Bard once wrote, all's well that ends well. The Houston Texans and Ryan Mallett decided to keep working together, recognizing that each needed the other. If in fact Brian Hoyer does sign with Houston tomorrow, it would seem that there will be a competition of sorts between him and Mallett for the honor of starting at quarterback for the Texans. My guess is that it's Mallett's job to lose, but it's not like Mallett has enough skins on the wall to declare that he's unequivocally the guy. Additionally, you have to believe that Hoyer is not coming here to be QB2; he surely believes he has a chance to win the gig.
Whether Mallett will prove to be the steady and productive player the Texans desperately need remains to be seen, but I'd much rather have the opportunity to figure that out with him in a Houston uniform instead of seeing Mallett under center for some other team in 2015 while the Texans continued to search for an answer elsewhere.
On that basis alone, I consider Mallett's new contract a good move, though the terms of said contract could cause me to adjust that stance. You?
UPDATE: The terms of Mallett's new contract with the Texans, per Tania Ganguli:
Ryan Mallett's deal with the #Texans is a 2 year deal worth $7 million. Expecting Hoyer's to be bigger.
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) March 9, 2015
UPDATE II: The good news for the Texans keeps coming. I can hardly believe this.
Mallett has a guarantee of $1.75 million in the first year. No guarantee in the 2nd. A prove it deal. And if he does, he'll cash in. #Texans
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) March 9, 2015