One of the biggest storylines this offseason for the New York Jets was the contract dispute with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.
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There were some Ryan Fitzpatrick signing questions for Todd Bowles on the first day of his second training camp as Jets head coach, but a few other important topics were also broached. Unfortunately, he does not seem to see that.
“Oh my gosh … it’s been a long six months for sure”, Fitzpatrick told the Daily News on Thursday. The Jets offered him a three-year deal worth up to $24m, including $16m guaranteed, but Fitzpatrick thought he was worth more. When Smith’s jaw was broken in a preseason locker-room altercation, however, Fitzpatrick took the job and kept it. “I feel like I continue to get better and better as a football player, and I feel more comfortable this year than I did last year and the year before”. But it was hard with people coming up to me and asking about the contract, people texting me. The return of Fitzpatrick will send Smith back to the bench and could signal the beginning of the end for his time in NY.
Fitzpatrick eventually made it to the Wednesday meeting.
“The 33-year-old spoke on the process calling it a long process”.
And to make that call, coach Gary Kubiak said Mark Sanchez, Trevor Siemian and rookie Paxton Lynch each will get an equal amount of playing time as camp gets underway.
“I’ll definitely have to knock off some rust for the next week or two, because I haven’t really been throwing to wide receivers, especially with guys with this speed”, Fitzpatrick continued. “We were without him for four games, I think we can go without him for one”.
“I kind of always knew that was a possibility”, Smith said. I don’t want that to become like a headline or something like that, because it’s not what I’m trying to say.
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Fitzpatrick noted that all he wanted in terms of a contract was something “fair and reasonable” and that he believes he’s getting better as a quarterback. “That’s all I wanted. Now I’m ready to get to work”. He played well enough to help NY to a 20-7 victory that night, and he went on to complete 59.6% of his passes on the year for 3,905 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions for a passer rating of 88.
