Patriots: Revisiting the Time Bill Belichick Convinced the Texans to Trade for Ryan Mallett

Remember New England Patriots quarterback Ryan Mallett? Wild times.

The New England Patriots don’t always come out on top in trades, but, with de facto general manager Bill Belichick running the show, they tend to reap the spoils much more often than not. A perfect example of this came back in 2014 when New England somehow convinced the Houston Texans to give up a draft pick for NFL flameout Ryan Mallett.

It’s not like the Patriots fleeced the Texans, either. All they received in return was a seventh-round selection in the 2016 Draft.

However, it’s downright hilarious that Belichick was able to acquire anything at all for the former Arkansas star, who had done absolutely nothing up until that point in his career.

Mallett was a third-round pick of the Patriots back in 2011, and spent three seasons as Tom Brady’s backup. During that span, the Razorback product appeared in just four games, across which he threw for 17 yards and one interception on four pass attempts.

Surely you see the humor in New England being able to trade him now, right? Ironically enough, the Patriots ended up unloading the pick (No. 243 overall) to the Seattle Seahawks as part of a four-pick swap, but the Mallett trade did pave the way for then-rookie Jimmy Garoppolo, to enter the fold as Brady’s backup.

The Texans, meanwhile, did anything but win their end of the deal. Mallett spent less than two full seasons with the franchise, during which he made nine appearances (six starts). In those games, he completed 53.6% of his passes for 1,170 yards and five touchdowns compared to six interceptions. Houston finished 2-4 in his starts.

This trade obviously won’t go down in the NFL history books as a blockbuster. If nothing else, it serves as further prove that Belichick is a magician when it comes to orchestrating deals. Trading a former college star that was never going to amount to anything as a pro for a late-round pick is exactly why he’s so damn good at what he does.