Starting Thursday’s game for the New England Patriots, Ryan Mallett struggled in the preseason opener.
Mallett started in place of Tom Brady but was just 5-of-12 for 55 yards. He short hopped passes and showed a lack of connection with his receivers.
Clearly this is not what the Patriots were hoping to see out of Mallett as a strong performance could have made him a trade chip heading into the regular season. Instead it opened the door for rookie Jimmy Garoppolo to take the role of the Patriots No. 2 quarterback.
Garoppolo played the entire second half completing 8-of-12 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown.
