Bill Belichick's remarks to Sirius XM NFL Radio on backup quarterback Ryan Mallett sparked a discussion on ESPN's "NFL Insiders" show Friday.

Host Suzy Kolber asked ESPN senior analyst Chris Mortensen and former Carolina Panthers general manager Marty Hurney for their analysis on the situation.

Mortensen detailed his thoughts, which he framed as "informed speculation," by saying that if second-round draft choice Jimmy Garoppolo "comes along and does quite well in OTAs and well into training camp, if somebody has a quarterback need or quarterback injury and they come calling and the Patriots feel good about Garoppolo, maybe Mallett is in play."

Kolber then asked Hurney how much teams really know about Mallett because he hasn't played much in the regular season from 2011-13.

"He was regarded highly enough as a quarterback coming out [in 2011], and I think the position creates interest in itself," Hurney answered. "I said this statement [from Belichick] is like if you ever go to dinner and a person says, 'I don't want dessert' so you order a chocolate cake and a big piece of chocolate cake comes out and all of a sudden you look and the other person is eating half of it. I think, if the chocolate cake looks good enough for Bill Belichick, they would be interested in trading Ryan Mallett."

Hurney then pitched his "perfect scenario" with the Houston Texans, while noting that any team trading for Mallett would need to extend his contract, which expires after the 2014 season.

"If I was the Texans, I would see if they were interested in Andre Johnson and say we would take a draft pick and throw Ryan Mallett in. So even if Ryan Mallett does not work out, you have the draft pick. [They're] rebuilding, really shooting for Year 3. Andre Johnson is 32 years old, doesn't have anyone proven throwing him the ball, so take that shot -- you get the draft pick, and if Ryan Mallett works out, you extend him and have your quarterback of the future."