OK then so I appreciate that, and it's what I suspected and feared which is to some extent we will still be buying a pig in a poke if we offer Mallet a contract.
Okay, there is a degree of unknown regarding Mallett (although not as much as you like to pretend, and none of it related to the injury), but who is available that is both more of a known quantity, and more attractive?
We know more about Case and Fitzpatrick as NFL starters than we do about Mallett, but that knowledge only increases the appeal of Mallett and his upside. If there is an available FA who you feel has shown he's the guy to lead the Texans for the next five years, I'd like a name, and if some degree of probable success is what you're looking for, then we'll forego any discussion of the draft.
Also, as to your comment on competition for the job, I've said before that if O'Brien and Co. genuinely believe he's got a decent shot to be the long-term answer, I've got no problem with Mallett essentially being given the job.
Think about this - assuming he resigns with the Texans, he'll either get a contract that's easy to get out of after one or two years (most likely), or he'll get a deal that cements him as the Texans QB for years to come (highly unlikely IMO). In the unlikely event of the latter of those two, it's a given that they're going to make him the starting QB from day one. If it's a "prove-it" type of deal, then they should see what they've got shouldn't they? Folks were clamoring for Mallett to start last season from virtually the day he was acquired so we could see what we've got. Under the "prove-it" type contract, wouldn't the urgency be even more since there's more money, and higher expectations on the line. Yeah, someone (obviously Savage as the most likely candidate) could dazzle in camp and pre-season ala Russell Wilson in his rookie year, but given they've seen Savage for a full year, I believe they'd have some idea if that were even an outside possibility (and perhaps they do and are playing it close to the vest). And as unlikely as it is that Savage will be that guy, it's less likely that Keenum, Fitzgerald, Thad Lewis or anyone not on the 2014 roster will be that guy.
Finally, you've got Savage under contract for three more seasons, so if you sacrifice one of those to more thoroughly evaluate Mallett, and continue to develop a guy who was a 5th round pick because, at least in part, of his limited college playing time, I don't see any problem there at all.
