NFL News: Houston Texans Release QB Ryan Mallett

The Houston Texans have released Ryan Mallett Tuesday and have signed T.J. Yates as replacement as starting quarterback Brian Hoyer’s back up for the rest of the year.

John McClain of the Houston Chronicle was one of the first to report the release on Twitter while NFL.com confirmed that Yates has been signed on a one-year contract.

Mallett, who missed the Texans' charter flight to play the Miami Dolphins, has played in five games for Houston this season but has had commitment issues with the team including being late for a practice during training camp. Mallett’s reason for the tardiness was a broken alarm clock. Mallet had a frustrating stint with the Texans after the team acquired him in a trade with the New England Patriots last season.

With a wide-open race for the battle for the starting QB position during the preseason, veteran QB Hoyer beat Mallet to the job. “It was always something with that guy, you just couldn’t count on Ryan to be here on time, to work hard and to do what everyone else is required to do. None of us are surprised that he’s gone. That had to happen,” an unnamed Texans player told chron.com.

“I wouldn’t say what he did was a distraction, but you have to have accountability and this was obviously the final straw for the organization. Good luck to Ryan wherever he winds up, but we’ve got our own things to work on. We’re trying to win some games," the source added.

The Texans saved some money by cutting Mallet, who will lose his per game salary for the rest of the season.

The Texans are off to a disappointing start in the 2015 regular season with a 2-5 record so far. They suffered losses to the Kansas City Chiefs (27-20), Carolina Panthers (24-17), Atlanta Falcons (48-21), Indianapolis Colts (27-20) and Dolphins (44-26) and had wins against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (19-9) and Jacksonville Jaguars (31-20).