The New England Patriots made a big move in the NFL draft by picking quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round of the draft and after trade rumors came up regarding the backup heading into the event, things will start to heat up now after the pick and one option that has been mentioned is the Houston Texans, as they need a QB and only took Tom Savage in the draft after trading away Matt Schaub.
The Patriots know that Mallett's contract comes up after this season and even if they don't trade him, they will need a new backup for the future as Tom Brady's career comes to an end and now Garoppolo looks to be that guy. Bill Belichick is not liberal with his draft picks and taking Garoppolo in the second round means he has high regard for the prospect and he could be a potential replacement for Brady down the road if he progresses well. Mallett comes in after being Brady's backup the past few years and he is coming into the league after a fantastic college career at Eastern Illinois and he won the Walter Payton Award last season.
Garoppolo is a mobile quarterback that can throw the ball and he passed for 5,050 yards and 53 touchdowns last season and that was one of the best stat lines in the nation and he had 66 percent on his completion percentage as well. Many wondered what the Houston Texans would do regarding their quarterback position in the draft and they went with Tom Savage in one of the later rounds and while he could be an option to start, a trade with the Patriots could still be on the table despite it not happening during the draft. The Patriots are actually in a perfect situation regarding Mallett, as they have the option to try and move him later, but will lose nothing by letting him go.
Mallett was a mid-round pick for Belichick and with the team knowing that he is coming into a contract year, they were proactive in coming up with a backup plan for their backup and now they have another QB in Garoppolo to back up Brady. Next season the team may have an opportunity to trade Mallett at the deadline and even if that doesn't happen, he was worth the value of taking him when he was picked. Savage has some question marks with how much football he missed before transferring and he also was sacked more than any other quarterback in the FBS last season.
Brady will be turning 37 this summer and while he has played very well over the latter stages of his career, there's no doubt the Patriots need to start looking towards the future at the position. The team had the chance to draft tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz, but instead they felt Garoppolo was talented enough for that selection and now he likely will be the backup for the next few years and he could be an option in 2017 or 2018 depending on how healthy Brady remains.
