Fox Sports Mike Garafolo says the Houston Texans still have avenues to acquire a quarterback today and could resume trade talks with the New England Patriots about back-up Ryan Mallett.
“Houston could still wind up getting their quarterback. The reports earlier that Ryan Mallett was on his way to Houston from New England were not accurate, but that does not mean that it’s not going to happen. Houston had to see how this was going to play out and what quarterback would be available to them at No. 33. They have talked to the Patriots, they’ve been in communication and this is something that has been on the back-burner for a while, but it could come to the front-burner tomorrow, so keep an eye on that one.”
(Update: Ed Werder of ESPN says later in the day that Bill Belichick has deemed Ryan Mallett not for sale)
People love call Chicago Bears Coach Marc Trestman a “quarterback whisperer,” and although that’s true, he’s not the QB guru that Bill O’Brien is. Matt McGloin, who was terribly ineffective under Joe Paterno, re-wrote the Penn State passing record book under B.O.B. Christian Hackenberg was as blue chip a prospect as they come, but no one expected him to be as he dominant as he was in his freshman year.
Okay, so O’Brien isn’t acquiring Ryan Mallett today/tonight, but he has options with the 33rd and 65th overall picks, the top picks in rounds two and three. Derek Carr is still available, just in case Houston wants to have another Carr brother leading them…I’m guessing that’s NOT the primary option because David Carr was more famous for being sacked than winning games and passing the football.
More likely is Eastern Illinois signal called Jimmy Garoppolo. (Click his name to learn more about him)
Bill O’Brien was in attendance at Garoppolo’s Pro Day at Northwestern (it was held at NU because, you don’t have an EIU only Pro Day, for obvious reasons), and O’Brien was reportedly very impressed. So maybe this option makes more sense than a Ryan Mallett deal anyway? Since it’s not going to happen. Other quarterbacks left out their with a possible third round grade, but not really a second round grade are Tom Savage of Pitt (who was actually invited to the NFL Draft, but turned it down) and a trio of SEC field generals: Zach Mettenberger of LSU, Aaron Murray of Georgia and AJ McCarron of Alabama, probably in that order.
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also a frequent guest on national talk radio. Banks is a former contributor to NBC Chicago and the Washington Times, who’s been featured in Forbes and on the History Channel. President Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)