AP

The talk that the Texans are interested in trading with the Patriots to acquire quarterback Ryan Mallett appears to be just talk.

In fact, John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reports that there’s not even any reason to talk about it. McClain reports that the Texans “won’t be trading for Ryan Mallett,” period.

It sounds good in theory: New Texans head coach Bill O’Brien was the Patriots’ offensive coordinator for Mallett’s rookie season, so O’Brien knows what kind of player Mallett is, and Mallett knows what kind of offense O’Brien runs. That’s the case for the Texans making the trade.

The case against it is that Mallett has completed a grand total of one pass in an NFL regular-season game. If the Texans are going to make a quarterback with no experience their starter, it’s going to be a rookie they’re drafting as their long-term answer. Not a third-year backup who only has one year left on his rookie contract.

The most likely path for Mallett is spending one more year as Tom Brady’s backup and then hitting free agency a year from now. The most likely path for the Texans is acquiring their quarterback of the future in the draft.