I'm with you ct. The longer we go without trying to develop another QB, the more likely Mallett will be finishing out his pact here and not bringing something back in compensation (if that was ever even a possibility to begin with). To be honest I am personally fine with Mallett as the backup again next season, but I thought it was worth pondering since we'll continue to hear the debates about him being traded again for the next 12+ months.
I think it may be difficult to draft another QB or pick one up via UDFA route in the spring and expect him to be able to handle the backup role for 2014 in such a short amount of time. If we're going to bring in someone to compete for the backup role on a serious level, it would probably have to be done some point this year. I could be way off, but that's something to think about. IIRC, I believe that they kept Hoyer on too until they felt Mallett was fully ready to take over the role by himself last summer. I'd have a hard time imagining something different as it pertains to dumping Mallett for a draft pick in the spring. I think he's here to stay through 2014 unless we bring someone else in soon and he really blossoms by late spring/early summer.
Yeah it's somewhat surprising that Marvin Austin hasn't been claimed by now as a 2nd round pick in 2011, but as you said he had character issues both in the NCAA's and the pros. You should check out some of his past tweets for proof... I'm not so sure that he'd be a good fit for this team, but his on the field production and upside is enticing on some level for sure, especially at a position that we're not exactly stacked at. That's a decision that Belichick will earn his money making, and we'll have to support either way
In the meantime, it doesn't seem like there are a ton of teams beating down his door at the moment although I'm sure someone will certainly take a shot with him.
There's definitely a part of me that wants to see if he can fit in here though, I'm not going to lie.
