Ryan

Mallett

The tragedy occurred in Florida, where it appears Mallett died in a beach accident. Out of the league since 2017, Mallett had been coaching high school football in his home state of Arkansas. Our thoughts are with Mallett’s friends and family.

Caserio’s wording suggests those calls have yet to be fielded. Mallett would likely cost at least a second-round pick with Hoyer scheduled to hit free agency in 2013. Entering the offseason, Hoyer was still clearly ahead of Mallett on depth chart.

As a result, the same sources expect the team to tender restricted free agent Brian Hoyer at the highest level. Mallett has shown “solid progress,” and the Patriots “love his talent,” but he doesn’t yet match Hoyer’s grasp of the offense. It would likely take at least a second-round pick to entice the Patriots into a Mallett trade.

The Pats are stacked at the position with 2011 third-rounder Ryan Mallett also developing, but Bill Belichick won’t risk losing an asset with a low tender. That won’t prevent the Patriots from listening to trade offers, however. Hoyer will draw more league-wide interest in 2013 when he reaches unrestricted free agency.

According to Belichick, Mallett has “absolutely” been putting in extra practice time, and has “made some impressive throws.” With Brian Hoyer set to become a restricted free agent, Mallett could enter 2012 as Tom Brady’s primary backup.

Mallett measured 6'7/253 at the 2011 Combine weigh-in. He says he’s now down to “between 235 and 240" with a “little more muscle and a lot less fat.” In November, coach Bill Belichick praised Mallett for putting in extra hours and making “impressive throws” in practice. The Pats may give Mallett a chance to push Brian Hoyer for Tom Brady’s backup job in 2012 training camp.

“Ryan Mallett has an opportunity to lay claim to being the heir apparent to Tom Brady,” said Curran, “and he just hasn’t done it.” Mallett’s camp work has drawn mixed reviews. While beat writers have unanimously questioned Mallett’s decisiveness and accuracy, ESPN’s Adam Schefter was told last week by reliable sources that the 2011 third-rounder has looked “very good.”

Ryan Mallett is battling Brian Hoyer. Through four preseason games, Mallett has seen 123 snaps to just 87 for Hoyer. Neither has been particularly impressive, with Mallett completing only 49.3 percent of his passes, and Hoyer even worse at just 46.8 percent.

Beat writer Jeff Howe speculates that the Pats could “get aggressive” about flipping Hoyer if 2011 third-round pick Ryan Mallett proves capable of handling the full-time backup job. Howe suggests Hoyer could be shopped to a team that suffers a quarterback injury in training camp. Our money is on Hoyer backing up Tom Brady all season, but it’s an interesting suggestion nonetheless.

Recently tagged as a camp disappointment by two media outlets, Mallett was unimpressive for the second consecutive game. Of course, this time around, Mallett was facing the Eagles starters while working with the Patriots second team. He’s completed 26-of-57 passes for 283 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions this preseason. Brian Hoyer remains the favorite for No. 2 duties.