The Houston Texans have traded for Ryan Mallett from the New England Patriots, sending a conditional sixth or seventh round pick in 2015.

The Texans are entering the 2014 season with Ryan Fitzpatrick as their starter.

To make room for Mallett on their roster, the Texans will waive quarterback Case Keenum, a source told ESPN.

Mallett was passed on the Patriots' depth chart this summer by rookie Jimmy Garoppolo, a second-round pick who impressed throughout training camp and the preseason.

Bill Belichick is ranked as the best coach in the NFL, according to a poll of 30 league insiders.

Pete Carroll and Sean Payton are ranked second and third and are also in their first tier.

"The most important thing to me is the ability to control the offense, the defense and the special teams," a GM said in describing the ideal coach. "You can change and you can coach multiple things and you have the ability to teach almost every position group. Then you can lose any coach you want and replace from within because the head coach is the talent. Belichick is the ultimate model of that."

Belichick commmanded a 1 vote on 28 of 30 ballots.

In Tier 2 are Andy Reid at No. 4, Tom Coughlin at No. 5, Mike McCarthy and Mike Tomlin at No. 6, Jim Harbaugh at No. 8, John Harbaugh at No. 9, John Fox at No. 10 , Jeff Fisher at No. 11, Chip Kelly at No. 12, Bruce Arians at No. 13, Lovie Smith at No. 14 and Mavin Lewis at No. 15.

Tier 3 is led by Chuck Pagano At No. 16, followed by Rex Ryan (17), Mike Smith (18), Gus Bradley (19), Ken Whisenhunt (20), Mike McCoy (20), Marc Trestman (22) and Ron Rivera (23).

Tier 4 features Mike Zimmer (24), Jay Gruden (25), Bill O'Brien (26), Jim Caldwell (27), Doug Marrone (28), Joe Philbin (29), Jason Garrett (30), Mike Pettine (31) and Bruce Allen (32).

J.J. Watt told reporters on Tuesday that he's outplayed his rookie deal and wants an extension, per John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. The Pro Bowler said he's not involved in talks, "but I'll get involved if I have to."

Watt is almost certainly set to become the richest 3-4 defensive end in history as he's widely been considered the best defensive player in the NFL over the past two seasons.

"It's been great to see some of these (2011) guys get deals, because it shows that their teams appreciate what work they put in," Watt told Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports last week. "You work extremely hard in this league to do as well as you can and hopefully earn that respect and to earn that appreciation."

The Houston Texans have released Andre Brown.

Brown has been a productive running back during his time with the New York Giants.

Brown was the victim of a numbers game with the Texans.

Ryan Fitzpatrick is locked in as the starting quarterback of the Houston Texans despite struggling in their preseason loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Asked Monday if Fitzpatrick is locked in as the Texans’ starter, Bill O’Brien issued a one-word response.

“Yes,” O’Brien said Monday at NRG Stadium.

Case Keenum and Tom Savage are battling for the backup quarterback job.

The Houston Texans may use their franchise tag on J.J. Watt if they are unable to agree upon a long-term contract 

"You've got guys in the Hall of Fame that have been franchised in back-to-back years," owner Bob McNair told ESPN.com. "The franchise tag is worth something to the team, and you can't be afraid to use it."

Watt is under contract for at least 2014 and 2015. The Texans picked up their option on the fifth season of his contract earlier in the offseason.

The sides had some preliminary discussions before the team took that action.

The franchise tag is a way for a team to restrict the free-agency movement of players. 

Jadeveon Clowney left practice early on Saturday with an apparent injury around his right hip flexor.

Clowney blocked a punt off Shane Lechler's foot before his exit in another eye-popping play.

"We're just trying to manage him," Bill O'Brien said. "He's coming off of surgery and we're just trying to manage him. He's out there and he wants to go every rep. And I'm sure just like all the guys, after seven practices I'm sure he's a little sore and we'll just continue to manage him."