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).

The New England Patriots have traded Logan Mankins to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a draft pick and Tim Wright.

Mankins is a six-time Pro Bowler at guard.

Mankins will count $4 million against the Patriots' salary cap in 2014 and another $4 million in 2015.

The Buccaneers have been searching for an upgrade at left guard.

The New England Patriots plan on using Chandler Jones at linebacker in a 3-4 system.

Jones, who can also line up at defensive tackle, is now getting work in 7-on-7 drills. He winds up covering tight ends at times.

"It's fun, I enjoy it," Jones said. "It gives me a chance to get out and run a little bit. I always joke in practice, 'Oh, I'm Darrelle Revis!' And everyone laughs.'"

Rob Gronkowski participated in 11-on-11 drills on Monday for the first time since the New England Patriots opened training camp.

Gronkowski isn't a lock to play in Week 1 as he recovers from a torn ACL, but he's clearly making progress.

Gronkowski has been one of the NFL's most productive tight ends when healthy since coming into the NFL.

Rob Gronkowski is continuing to favor his surgically repaired knee.

Gronkowski is not a lock to be in the New England Patriots' lineup for Week 1.

Gronkowski has proven himself capable of being one of the NFL's most productive tight ends even when less than 100 percent.

The New England Patriots have traded for Jerel Worthy from the Green Bay Packers in exchange for a late-round draft pick.

Worthy missed all but 14 snaps last season because he was slow to recover from a late 2012 ACL tear. He entered training camp on the roster bubble due to an influx of talent on the defensive side of the ball in Green Bay.

A poor fit for Dom Capers' two-gap scheme, Worthy managed just 2.5 sacks in a part-time role as a rookie.

The Dallas Cowboys have acquired defensive back Justin Green from the New England Patriots for Ben Bass.

The Cowboys needed depth at corner back following the suspension to Orlando Scandrick.

Green, who began his college career as a running back at Illinois before being switched to corner, spent most of last season on the Patriots practice squad.

Rob Gronkowski participated in 7-on-7 drills for the first time in camp.

Gronkowski wore a red non-contract jersey as he comes back from knee surgery.

The New England Patriots are optimistic that Gronkowski will be available for Week 1.

Jake Ballard has retired from the NFL at the age of 26 after appearing in eight games last season with the Arizona Cardinals.

Ballard tore his ACL and eventually needed microfracture surgery following an injury during Super Bowl XLVI.

"Yesterday I made the difficult decision to retire from the game of football," Ballard said in a statement, via ProFootballTalk. "I love this game and have put my heart and soul into it for as long as I can remember. After sustaining a serious knee injury while playing for the New York Giants in the Super Bowl, my body never felt the same.

"Having a quality of life after football is very important to me and I have witnessed it taken away from others. I will miss the game tremendously, but I am ready for this next chapter in my life."