MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Houston Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett missed Saturday's team charter to Miami for Sunday's game against the Dolphins, sources told ESPN. He flew commercial and dressed for the game.
"I got caught in traffic," Mallett, who did not play, said after the Texans' 44-26 loss to the Dolphins on Sunday. "It's not the leadership role I need to exhibit."
This not the first time Mallett has been late for a team activity. Most publicly, he missed a practice during training camp two days after the Texans named Brian Hoyer their Week 1 starting quarterback. Mallett told the team he overslept and that he bought an alarm clock. He told Texans general manager Rick Smith that that kind of thing would not happen again.
Coach Bill O'Brien said any discipline for Mallett's tardiness would be handled internally.
"It's not for public consumption, and that's the way that will be," O'Brien said.
Hoyer's time as starter didn't last long initially. He struggled in Week 1, and Mallett entered the game with 6 minutes, 10 seconds remaining. For Week 2, O'Brien handed the reins to Mallett.
Mallett went 1-3 as the starter, completing 52.2 percent of his passes for 672 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions.
In the Texans' Week 5 game against the Indianapolis Colts, O'Brien switched from Mallett to Hoyer in the second quarter when Mallett left the game for what he thought would be just one play to catch his breath after a rough hit. Instead, Hoyer finished the game, completing 24 of 31 passes with 312 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Mallett looked visibly perturbed on the sideline and said after the game he felt healthy enough to return.
Hoyer regained his starting job the next week and led the Texans to a 31-20 win over the Jaguars.
The Texans initially acquired Mallett in a trade with the New England Patriots on Aug. 31, 2014. They signed Mallett to a two-year, $7.005 million contract this offseason that includes no guaranteed money in 2016.