AP

For all the quarterback injuries and upheavals, former Texans starter Ryan Mallett hasn’t gotten a sniff of a job.

And he must not think he’s going to anytime soon, or at least at his old rate of pay.

According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, Mallett has elected to take of what the Texans would have owed him this season as termination pay.

Players can do that once, so Mallett might have some inkling that he’s either not getting back in the league after getting “stuck in traffic” and “oversleeping” his way out of a job, or at least not at the same rate.

Mallett had a two-year, $7.005 million contract, and will get the remaining $1.47 million in base salary the Texans would have owed him this year by filing for termination pay.

The Texans had already paid him $1.029 million in base salary before firing him in October, plus another $437,500 in per-game roster bonuses.

He’ll still get the money from the Texans if he signs with another team, but it seems unlikely that will be this season.

The fact that guys such as T.J. Yates and Blaine Gabbert and Case Keenum were starting quarterbacks last week should tell you something about the job market, and the fact no one has brought Mallett in for a look should be instructive.

At some point, someone might give him a chance, but if they do, it will probably be at the minimum, so this is likely Mallett’s last best chance to make that kind of money, so it probably makes sense to jump on it.