Mallett was born in
Batesville, Arkansas. His father, Jim, was a high school teacher and football
coach and mother, Debbie, was a teacher. He had an older sister, Lauren. He became friends with
Will Middlebrooks when they met in a football camp in the seventh grade.[1][2][3]
Mallett made his first appearance at Michigan in the second game of the 2007 season against
Oregon. He entered the game for the injured
Chad Henne in the third quarter and completed 6 of 17 passes for 49 yards and one interception.[11] Mallett started the next week against
Notre Dame and led the Wolverines to a 38–0 victory by throwing 3 touchdown passes, going 7 of 15 (46.7%) for 90 yards.[12] Mallett started his first Big Ten conference game against
Penn State the following week. He went 16 of 29 (55.2%) with 170 yards and one interception. He also scored on a 10-yard rush in the first quarter.[13] Henne returned to start the Wolverines' next three games. In those games, Mallett had limited playing time completing 4 of 10 for 30 yards.[14][15][16]
Mallett's next start was against
Minnesota. He threw a touchdown pass and went 11 of 20 (55.0%) with 233 yards and no interceptions.[17] Mallett did not start, but played extensively the next week in a loss against
Wisconsin. He threw 3 touchdown passes and went 11 of 36 (30.6%) with 245 yards and two interceptions.[18] In the fourth quarter, Mallett threw a 97-yard touchdown pass to
Mario Manningham, the longest pass completion in Michigan history.[19] Mallett played very little in the next week's game against
Ohio State. He threw three passes and completed one of them for eight yards.[20] Overall, he finished the 2007 season with 892 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns, and five interceptions.[21]
In 2009 as a
redshirt sophomore, Mallett began his career as an
Arkansas Razorback. Prior to the 2009 season, Mallett was named by
ESPN's Bruce Feldman as one of college football's top 10 newcomers of the year, citing his arm strength as a major determining factor.[24] In subsequent interviews, when Mallett was questioned about how far he could throw the football, he said farther than 80 yards.[25]
On March 1, 2009, Mallett was arrested on charges of public intoxication.[26][27] He pleaded guilty to the
misdemeanor charge on April 3, 2009, and paid $155 in court costs, fines, and fees. Mallett was also punished by head coach
Bobby Petrino with early wake-up calls, extra running, and early curfews.[28]
Mallett earned the starting job in the Razorbacks' first game against
Missouri State, going 17-of-22 for 309 yards and a touchdown.[29] Two weeks later, Mallett passed for 408 yards and five touchdowns against
Georgia in a losing effort. The passing yardage and touchdowns were single-game school records.[30] Mallett threw for more than 250 yards in three of Arkansas' next five games, with nine touchdowns against three interceptions. Impressive victories over Texas A&M and Auburn were coupled with tough losses to Alabama and Ole Miss, and a loss to Florida.[31][32][33][34] After a 3–4 start, Mallett led Arkansas to three consecutive victories over Eastern Michigan (14-of-16 for 248 yards and three touchdowns),[35] South Carolina (23-of-27 for 329 yards and one rushing touchdown),[36] and Troy (23-of-30 for 405 yards, five touchdowns and one interception). Over those three games, he completed 83.1% of his passes, and had a quarterback rating of 165.05, which was third-best in the nation. The victory over Troy pushed Arkansas' record to 6–4 and secured the Hogs' bowl eligibility, with games against Mississippi State and LSU remaining.[37] Mallett went on to throw for 313 yards and matched his career high of five touchdown passes in a 42–21 victory over Mississippi State.[38] The following week, he threw for 227 yards and a touchdown in a 33–30 overtime loss to LSU in Baton Rouge.[39] The Razorbacks finished the 2009 season with an 8–5 record and won the
2010 Liberty Bowl against
East Carolina, 20–17 in overtime.[40] Mallett was named the bowl game's Offensive MVP.[41]
Mallett currently owns sixteen
school records, including most passing yards in a season (3,627), most consecutive passes without an interception, most passing yards in a game (408), most passing touchdowns in a game (5, three times), only quarterback to pass for over 400 yards in a game (two times), most pass plays of 25 or more yards in a season, and most passing touchdowns in a single season (30).[42][43]
Mallett chose to forgo entering the
2010 NFL Draft, and returned for his junior season at Arkansas.[44]
2010
On February 17, 2010, the Razorbacks announced that Mallett suffered a left foot injury in a change of direction conditioning drill.[45] He had successful surgery later that day, and a planned second surgery was announced on June 9.[46][47] Mallett missed the Razorback spring game and spring drills, but he did not miss fall camp.[48] During the off season, Mallett was named one of college football's most irreplaceable players by ESPN.com, and he appeared on College Football Live.[49] At the SEC's 2010 Media Days conference, Mallett became the first Arkansas quarterback to be named preseason first-team
All-SEC by the SEC coaches.[50] He was listed as the frontrunner for the
Davey O'Brien Award by The Sporting News and a potential
Heisman Trophy candidate. He was also named a preseason All-SEC quarterback and preseason All-American quarterback by numerous organizations.[51]
On September 4, 2010, in a 44–3 victory over
Tennessee Tech, Mallett completed 21 of 24 passes (87.5%), setting an Arkansas school record for completion percentage in a game. The completion percentage also ranks second all-time in SEC football history.[52] Mallett contributed 301 passing yards, as well, with a total of 8 receivers recording catches.[53] In the next game against Louisiana–Monroe, he finished with 400 passing yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.[54] In the next game, against Georgia, he had his third consecutive game with three touchdown passes in the conference victory.[55] Arkansas played Alabama in the next game and suffered their first setback of the season as Mallett had 357 passing yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions.[56] The Razorbacks bounced back in the next game against Texas A&M as Mallett had 310 passing yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.[57] After a loss to Auburn and a victory over Ole Miss, Mallett had 409 passing yards and three touchdowns in a victory over Vanderbilt.[58] After a win over South Carolina, he had 215 passing yards and five touchdowns in a win over UTEP.[59] After closing out the season with victories over Mississippi State and LSU, the Razorbacks faced off against Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl. In his final collegiate game, Mallett had 277 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interception as the Razorbacks fell 31–26.[60]
Mallett finished seventh in voting for the
2010 Heisman Trophy award.[61] On January 6, 2011, Mallett decided to forgo his senior year at Arkansas and declare for the
2011 NFL Draft.[62]
Collegiate awards
2010 Premier Player of College Football Trophy Winner[63]
Mallett, who was often projected prior to the draft as a first-round talent,[73] fell to the third round of the
2011 NFL Draft, where he was selected 74th overall by the
New England Patriots[74] (using the pick they received when they traded
Randy Moss to the
Minnesota Vikings); that pick was the highest pick the Patriots had used on a quarterback since taking
Drew Bledsoe number one overall in
1993, until they drafted
Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round of the
2014 NFL Draft 62nd overall.[75] According to
Michael Lombardi of the
NFL Network, the Patriots rated Mallett as the best quarterback available in the 2011 draft; nevertheless, six other quarterbacks were taken before the Patriots drafted him,[76] drawing comparisons to
Tom Brady, who was the seventh quarterback chosen in
2000, though with the 199th pick.[77]
Mallett made his preseason debut in the Patriots' first preseason game, a 47–12 rout of the
Jacksonville Jaguars on August 11. He played the entire second half, completing 12 of 19 passes for 164 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions. The Patriots scored touchdowns on each of the first four drives Mallett led, and ran out the clock on his fifth and final drive.[78] Mallett struggled in his next preseason games throwing an interception which was returned for a touchdown in his second game.[79] At his fourth preseason game against the
Giants he was 6 of 16 for 57 yards. Mallett spent 2011 as the Patriots' third-string quarterback, behind Tom Brady and
Brian Hoyer.[80] Mallett was inactive for 15 out of 16 regular season games and was inactive for every post season game for the Patriots' Super Bowl run.[81]
2012 season
Following the Patriots' decision to release Hoyer prior to the season, Mallett was promoted to second-string quarterback behind
Tom Brady.[82] Mallett dressed in each of the first eight games of the season, and in their blowout 45–7 rout over the
St. Louis Rams in London on October 28, 2012, Mallett took his first snaps in the NFL, completing 1 of 3 passes for 17 yards (his one completion to
Shane Vereen) and a passer rating of 53.5.[83] In the Patriots' blowout victory against the
Houston Texans in December 2012, Mallett came into the game late in the fourth quarter and threw his first interception in the NFL on a pass deflected by intended receiver
Visanthe Shiancoe.[84]
2013 season
Mallett was listed as the No. 2 quarterback on the Patriots' depth chart behind
Tom Brady and ahead of third-string quarterback
Tim Tebow; Tebow was later released by the Patriots, leaving Mallett as the Patriots' only backup quarterback.[85]
Houston Texans
2014 season
On August 31, 2014, the Patriots traded Mallett to the
Houston Texans for a conditional sixth-round pick after losing the backup job to rookie
Jimmy Garoppolo.[86] He was the Texans' primary backup until November 5, when he was named the starting quarterback for the Texans by head coach
Bill O'Brien, replacing
Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was moved down one slot to No. 2 on the depth chart.[87]
During Week 11 of the 2014 season, Mallett started his first game, against the
Cleveland Browns where he threw his first touchdown pass, to
J. J. Watt. He went 20 of 30 with two passing touchdowns and a 95.3 passer rating in the 23–7 win over the Browns.[88] On November 23, Mallett tore his
pectoral muscle against the
Cincinnati Bengals,[89] ending his season.[90]
2015 season
Mallett returned in
2015, competing for the starting quarterback position against former teammate
Brian Hoyer.[91] He lost the competition to Hoyer. The day after the announcement, Mallett missed the following day's practice, leading some to believe he disagreed with the decision. Mallett apologized and told head coach
Bill O'Brien that he missed practice due to oversleeping.[92]
Mallett replaced Hoyer in the fourth quarter against the
Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1.[93] Head coach Bill O'Brien announced afterward that Mallett would replace Hoyer as the starting quarterback. In Week 2, he completed 27 of his 58 passes for 244 yards, one touchdown and one interception, as well as a rushing touchdown, in a 24–17 loss to the
Carolina Panthers.[94]
In Week 4 against the
Atlanta Falcons, Mallett was benched with the Texans trailing 42–0 in favor of Hoyer, who then led the team to 21 points in a 48–21 loss.[95] Despite Hoyer's success in the game, Mallett was named the starter for Week 5 against the
Indianapolis Colts. During the Colts game, Mallett was hit hard, forcing him to leave for a play. Mallett appeared able and willing to return[96] but was replaced by Hoyer for the remainder of the game. Hoyer threw for two touchdowns but also threw a costly interception to give the Colts a 27–20 victory.[97] Before the Texans' game against the Dolphins on October 25, Mallett missed the team flight and was forced to fly commercial to join the team in Miami.[98] Two days later, the Texans released him.[99]
Baltimore Ravens
On December 15, 2015, in the wake of
Baltimore Ravens quarterback
Matt Schaub suffering an injury following
Joe Flacco's own season-ending injury, Mallett signed with the Ravens.[100] On December 27, 2015, Mallett threw for a career-high 274 yards, leading the Ravens to a 20–17 upset victory over the
Pittsburgh Steelers in his seventh career start, after
Jimmy Clausen was benched.[101] He would promptly get a new career high the following week with 292 passing yards in the Ravens' 24–16 loss to the
Cincinnati Bengals.[102]
Following Schaub returning to the
Atlanta Falcons to be
Matt Ryan's backup and Clausen retiring from the NFL, Mallett became Flacco's primary backup in 2016, appearing in four games. He completed three of his six passes and also threw an
interception.[103]
On March 9, 2017, Mallett signed a one-year contract extension with the Ravens.[104] After Flacco suffered a concussion late in the second quarter of the Week 8 game against the
Miami Dolphins, Mallet entered the game and completed three of seven passes for 20 yards and one touchdown as the Ravens won by a score of 40–0.[105][106]
After the NFL
In 2019 Mallett attended the XFL Tampa Bay Summer Showcase, but wasn't drafted to the league.[107]
In 2021 he played for
The Spring League Generals. In his first game Mallett completed 20 of 31 passes for 252 yards in a 21–19 victory over the Jousters. In week 6 he was selected as the South Division Player of the Week.[108]
Mallett drowned in
Destin, Florida, on June 27, 2023, at the age of 35.[112][113] According to the
Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, Mallett was swimming with his girlfriend and was unable to make it to the safety of a
sandbar and drowned.[114] The
National Weather Service warned of
rip currents around beaches in the Destin area, which were under yellow flag conditions at the time of the tragedy.[114] The Destin Fire Control District clarified that there were no rip currents present in the area during the response to Mallett.[115] The NFL issued a statement on
Twitter following news of his death, saying that "The NFL family is deeply saddened by the passing of Ryan Mallett. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones."[114]
^Holt, Bob; Murphy, Tom (January 3, 2010).
"Instant replay". Arkansas Online.
Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2023.