The Texans had a miserable day on Sunday as they lost to the Dolphins 44-26 after falling behind 41-0 and saw running back Arian Foster suffer an Achilles injury that looks like it might cost him the rest of the season.
Adding to the fun for Texans coach Bill O’Brien is getting to deal with backup quarterback Ryan Mallett’s absence from the team’s flight to Miami. Mallett made it to Florida on his own and was in uniform on Sunday, but it’s something the coach will have to address with a player who already skipped a training camp practice because he overslept.
Mallett said after the game, via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, that he “got caught in traffic” by way of explaining why he didn’t show up for the flight. We can’t testify to traffic conditions in Houston before the team’s flight, but it would seem likely that other players would have been in a similar boat heading to the same airport if there really were a traffic jam of sufficient size to allow an adult to use it as an excuse for being late to a paying job.
O’Brien said that any discipline would be handled internally and is “not for public consumption.” It will, of course, be subject to public consumption if O’Brien decides that he’d rather give Mallett’s roster spot to someone who can be bothered to show up to work.