Texans coach Bill O’Brien has suggested that the team will have a competition to determine their starting quarterback for the 2015 season and he knows one player that he’d like to have as an aspirant in that competition.
The Texans traded for Ryan Mallett before the start of last season and turned to him for two starts before a torn pectoral forced a move to injured reserve that brought his season to an end. Mallett is set to become a free agent next month and O’Brien said in Indianapolis this week that he’d like to re-sign a player he also coached with the Patriots.
“He’s smart, and he’s a hard worker, and he understands our system,” O’Brien said, via the Houston Chronicle. “I like the fact that when he wasn’t playing he was really into the game. He listened to every play call on an earpiece. There are a lot of things that make me believe he can be a starter in this league.”
Returning to Houston probably makes the most sense for Mallett if he wants a starting job since he knows the Texans offense and has worked with O’Brien and quarterbacks coach George Godsey since entering the league. That points to a return in 2015, although the other names in the hat aren’t quite as easily sussed out at this point in the offseason.