Texans head coach Bill O’Brien said he expects the team to have a competition in the offseason to see who starts the season at quarterback

Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien said he expects the team to have a competition in the offseason to see who will start the 2015 season at quarterback.

Ryan Mallett, Case Keenum and Ryan Fitzpatrick all started under center at various points last season. Fitzpatrick started the first 12 games in 2014 before breaking his left leg. Mallett got the next two starts, throwing two touchdowns and two interceptions before suffering a right pectoral injury.

He was replaced by rookie Tom Savage, but he was also injured, so team brought in Keenum. Keenum won both of his starts in relief of Mallett.

Mallett is expected to hit the free agent market next month.

“We’ll make the right decision and it will probably be a competition,” O’Brien said, according to the team’s website. “It will be something where guys come in and compete and have to win the job and that’s the way it should be and that’s what we’re looking to do.”

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O’Brien, who went 9-7 in his first season with the team, says he knows the value of having a quarterback who can get the job done.

“There’s really no more important position than that,” O’Brien said. “We all understand that. That’s a position that’s very important, that handles the ball on every single play.”

O’Brien did not say if the team is going keep the quarterbacks they have on the roster or seek a new signal-caller through the draft or free agency.

The Texans have the 16th pick in the first round of the 2015 NFL draft.

- Scooby Axson