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When the Patriots selected Ryan Mallett out of Arkansas in the third round of the 2011 draft I, like many others, believed he was the heir apparent to Tom Brady. But as one of my favorite sayings go, conditions on the ground have changed. Brady is still playing at a high level, and keeping Mallett on the bench for much longer is not just bad for Mallett himself, but it is bad for the team.

Whether you want to admit it or not, Mallett is not going to be the man to replace Brady when he hangs up the cleats. The longer they keep him on the roster, the harder it will be to actually find someone that can replace one of the greatest to ever play the game. Mallett is currently set to become a free agent in 2015 at the end of his rookie deal, while Brady just signed a deal that would make him a Patriot until the end of the 2017 season. Those numbers don’t match. I simply don’t see Mallett signing another deal to stick with the Pats when he could easily sign with another team with the opportunity to start in the NFL and I don’t see him replacing Brady while Tom is still under contract.

Bill Belichick does what is best for his football team, and what is best for the Patriots is to dump Mallett and get something in return while they still can. The team has a mere 5 picks in this years’ draft and nothing in between the 3rd and 7th rounds. A team in need of a QB could give the Patriots possibly a second rounder in next years’ draft and maybe a fourth in this years’. That’s pretty good value for someone taken in the third round.

This is also what is best for Mallett. Ryan came on to the Patriots’ team with all sorts of question marks about his maturity. As of this writing he has remained a true professional and the best way to reward that is to give him a true opportunity to follow his true dream, to play starting quarterback in the NFL. The longer he sits on the bench, the less chance he will have of fulfilling that dream, Belichick gave Mallett his first shot in the NFL, now it’s time to give him another.

According to reports early this morning, the Patriots were fielding phone calls about the availability of Ryan Mallett. A trade will probably not happen tonight, although it would not shock me, but the Patriots should pull the trigger and dump him. Maybe a team like the Raiders, or the Eagles who really still aren’t set at the position would be willing to give the kid from Arkansas a chance by giving up some picks to New England; and if the deal is right, Belichick shouldn’t hesitate.