Yesterday, the New York Jets finally signed quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to a one-year, $12 million deal to bring back their starting quarterback.
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Bowles and general manager Mike Maccagnan repeatedly said all offseason that they’d like to have Fitzpatrick back, with the coach saying the veteran would enter camp as the team’s starter if he re-signed. He said some teammates seemed shocked to see him.
“This is obviously a place that I want to be”, Fitzpatrick said after the season, “a place that I’m comfortable with”.
In a race against time, Fitzpatrick drove his truck through the security entrance at the Jets’ facility and then hurried to make his way into the building. “They were in my corner all offseason so for me, I’ve got to go out and preform for those guys in the locker room”. For five or six months it was like a dark cloud hovering over him. “In the end, I’m happy the way it turned out”.
Fitzpatrick said he hopes there is no animosity from the fans and that they understand that his contract squabble was just part of the business. “I didn’t want to miss any camp time”. Nothings ever really been handed to me, so I just go out and try to prove it every year.. But Im glad we got it done for that first team meeting..
“This whole process has been so long and hard and something I wouldn’t wish upon anybody, but if there’s a silver lining in it, at least for me, it’s the respect and support that those guys showed for me throughout the process”, Fitzpatrick continued with Mehta.
The Jets’ quarterback is coming off one of his best seasons ever as a professional. The other option for the team was Geno Smith who would have been the starter, but he did not have the backing of the front office or the team.
“I have a better idea of what I have and what I’m gonna do going forward”, Bowles said. I thought we got past that a year ago.. “That’s all I wanted”. Maybe both sides need help getting there. “I told him, ‘That’s a $12 million fine”.
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Another $3 million in incentives are included in the deal, which could boost the value to $15 million, a source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. According to reports, the Jets had a three-year, $24 million offer on the table. “Then I’d be able to play here for a year and kind of take the pressure off of them, because they got the deal done for one year, and put it all on me”.
