The Houston Texans enter the offseason in need of a quarterback and the men in charge believe they may already have their guy on speed dial in Ryan Mallett.
Speaking in Indianapolis during the NFL Combine, Texans general manager Rick Smith and head coach Bill O'Brien made it no secret they are hoping to sign the unrestricted free agent Mallett.
"We're hopeful we get him back," Smith said.
O'Brien agreed with the GM.
"We'd like to have him back in Houston," O'Brien said.
As an unrestricted free agent, Mallett has the ability to sign with any NFL team this offseason. With only two full games under his belt, one of which was played with a torn pectoral muscle before being shut down for the season, the market could be thin for the quarterback. O'Brien believes his long relationship with Mallett dating back to his rookie season with the New England Patriots could help the Texans' chances at bring him back to the team.
"I've known Ryan [Mallett] since his rookie year," O'Brien said. "I really have a good connection with Ryan. George Godsey, our quarterback coach, has a real good connection with him too. He enjoys playing in our system. We enjoy coaching him."
Smith believes the leadership qualities Mallett learned from playing behind Tom Brady for three seasons has helped mold him to being the player he is today.
"He had picked up several leadership traits that were impressive, playing behind such a great player," Smith said. "And he was able to incorporate that in his stuff, his style."
Neither Smith or O'Brien mentioned if Mallett would be the named starter, but if he does indeed re-sign with Houston, it would likely be to take over the starting quarterback role once again.
Follow Shawn Ramsey on Twitter: @ShawnPRamsey
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