The secret society of NFL head coaches must have held a meeting recently, during which they discussed the merits of benching quarterbacks. Over the past couple of weeks, there have been multiple high-profile changes at the quarterback position unrelated to injury, and this week alone two teams are swapping out their starter for a backup.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the first to reveal their swap under center, naming decision in Houston to move on from Patrick Daugherty of Rotoworld, Mallett's preseason numbers for his career are less than stellar. He has produced eight touchdowns to only three picks in his exhibition appearances, but those have come on an inefficient 53.8% completion percentage with a meager 5.45 yards per attempt.

Mallett is very tall and has a huge arm, but lacks touch, mobility, and anything resembling a real chance to show he's capable of managing an NFL offense. He's a physical specimen that most coaches would love to mold and shape into a franchise quarterback, but those sorts of projects go wrong (Josh Freeman, Jamarcus Russell) more often than they go right. Inaccurate, unreliable passers usually stay that way over the course of their careers, and Mallett's preseason play has been proof of that.

So while Mallett's deep-ball ability might spark a bit of excitement in the Houston passing game, his unreliability and lack of experience - combined with the drastic decline in running ability from the quarterback position - are likely to set the Texans offense back in the short-term. Houston is hanging onto hopes of a playoff push, and have made a decision that feels like throwing in the towel and looking forward to the future.

Ryan Fitzpatrick was not setting the world ablaze with his play, but he was also not playing poorly enough to be the reason the team was struggling to win games this season. And in most cases, the backup quarterback isn't any better of an option, it's just a different option.

Maybe the Texans are basing this decision on that slim chance that Mallett is a stark improvement over Fitzpatrick, and are using their familiarity with the Arkansas product from his time in New England to justify that viewpoint. But they're likely going to find that this move puts their playoff aspirations on ice for a season while they evaluate whether or not Mallett is going to be "the guy" moving forward.

As for Fitzpatrick? He'll probably wind up starting somewhere next season. As Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus tweeted, Fitzpatrick is one of the best quarterbacks in the world, but struggles just enough to always be on "borrowed time." That "borrowed time" will likely be on another team in another town next season, when we'll have this same discussion all over again.