“He has a better grasp of it going into training camp and we’ll see what he does”.
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That might be stretching the truth somewhat, although not by much. The stalemate in which they are locked with Ryan Fitzpatrick should have been resolved a long time ago.
“I think Geno can be a good starter, but he’s got to prove it in training camp like everybody else”, Bowles told the New York Daily News. The New England Patriots will be without Tom Brady for the first four games of the year thanks to his newly re-instated Deflategate suspension, and there are reports that the Patriots are seeking out a steady hand who can guide the team while he’s gone, or at least provide some steadiness behind the untested Jimmy Garoppolo.
Of the eight catches the Jets got from their tight ends last season, Jeff Cumberland delivered five.
Fitzpatrick’s contract standoff has now carried out over the entire offseason, as he’s yet to receive an agreeable proposal from the Jets.
Fitzpatrick has reasonable leverage for a pay raise.
It was that final game, last season against Buffalo, where a strong case can be made as to why the Jets are holding firm to their position. The inconsistencies, and ill-timed mistakes, that come with an average quarterback were on full display.
Still, Smith has “had the tools” since he was drafted in 2012 and always gets talked up prior to training camp; before he got popped in the face by IK Enemkpali last season, Smith was the favorite to win the starting role over Fitzpatrick. That we’re looking at the very real possibility that the 33-year-old quarterback and the Jets may not work out a deal at all? The lack of an interested market, however, along with his inconsistent past, is more than enough to justify why he’s still a quarterback without a contract. Wilkerson received the franchise tag and it appeared he would play this season under the tender of $15.7 million, but the Jets stunningly beat the deadline last week to negotiate a new contract and prevent a camp headache. However it must be at a reasonable cost. Todd Bowles and general manager Mike Maccagnan will have to make that decision sooner rather than later.
So far there has been no “alternative” for the Jets.
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The Jets’ on-again-off-again quarterback from 2015 is still a free agent, having not yet re-signed with the team on which he had his most productive season ever.
