New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith talks to reporters during NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 28, 2016, in Florham Park, N.J.
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Because there was no progress in the contract talks for such a long time, there were even times when the Jets seemed hopeless, already seeking on the market for available passers who they can bring in.
By DENNIS WASZAK Jr. It just so happened that drive would be a loop around the Jets practice facilities.
After a five-month contract dispute with their starting quarterback, the New York Jets and Ryan Fitzpatrick agreed to terms on a one-year deal Wednesday night worth $12 million.
The offseason standoff followed a year in which Fitzpatrick set a team record with 31 touchdown passes after taking the starting role in preseason. But there was just one problem.
Fitzpatrick was a free agent who was locked in a contract stalemate with the Jets since free agency began in March.
“It definitely was a long process”, Fitzpatrick told ESPN on Thursday.
Fitzpatrick quickly apologized to Bowles for his ever-so slightly tardy arrival. “I might have been three seconds late, which is a minute late, I guess, ” he said.
“I’ll tell you what”.
NY starts their regular season at home against one of Fitzpatrick’s former teams, the Cincinnati Bengals.
“I have a better idea of what I have and what I’m gonna do going forward”, Bowles said. “It went down to the wire, but I was happy to be in there”.
Taking the field to theme song from the hit 1970s sitcom “Welcome Back Kotter”, Fitzpatrick heard loud cheers when he connected with Marshall on a deep pass down the sideline. The quarterbacks bushy beard was nothing new, but his over-coiffed hairdo drew some razzing from his teammates.
“Full beard, mini ‘fro”, wide receiver Eric Decker joked.
“No, we’re just trying to get better”. I thought for the most part it was good that it stayed behind closed doors. “I thought we got past that previous year”. However, the signing of Fitzpatrick has put the Jets over the salary cap by approximately $9 million. He wasnt pleased about it and made that clear to the Jets, and the weeks turned into months with Fitzpatrick still unsigned. That’s not in my nature.
“If didn’t do that, I would be doing myself a great disservice”, Smith said. This past Wednesday they finally finalized the deal. So essentially, both sides had no other choice but to bite the bullet. He was close to making the postseason slump previous year, but a season-ending loss to the Buffalo Bills prevented it. “I’d rather go out there and prove it on the field”. “All along, all I wanted was a fair and reasonable deal”. That was really important to me.
A year ago, he was preparing to be the starter with Fitzpatrick as his backup.
“It’s his job”, Bowles said. Based off what he did previous year, hes earned it..
Fitzpatrick thus far has sat out the offseason and is likely behind on training.
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Fitzpatrick said it was painful to be so close to his teammates and unable to practice with them. Now I’m ready to get to work. “I said he was the starter in the spring”.
