It took an uncomfortably long time for the New York Jets to get 33-year-old Ryan Fitzpatrick under contract, but the two sides finally found a deal they could agree on. Fitzpatrick spoke to the New York Daily News the morning after the deal, and said it was a “relief to have it over and done with”.
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The Jets are working Fitzpatrick back in, and don’t want to push him too much too early by giving him too many reps.
Fitz Magic has returned and – voila! – the New York Jets are heading into training camp with their starting quarterback under contract.
Fitzpatrick and the Jets agreed to a one-year deal worth $12 million guaranteed on Wednesday night.
The Jets open up the season against the Cincinnati Bengals on September 11. The Jets tweeted out a picture of Fitzpatrick signing his deal, and the quarterback fully participated in practice Thursday.
“Jets brass consistently expressed a desire to keep Fitzpatrick rather than seriously pursue replacements like Brock Osweiler or Sam Bradford during free agency”. The last time NY graced the postseason was in the 2010 season where it reached the conference championship before being eliminated by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Last season, was a career year for the quarterback. Fitzpatrick’s 88.0 passer rating was a career-best for a season in which he started more than 12 games. Even though the Jets missing the NFL Playoffs was disappointing, there was a lot to be excited for moving into the 2016 season. Could he end the drought next year? “I think this worked out for both parties”. With Fitzpatrick able to throw the ball a little, teams will be forced to not stack the box.
Fitzpatrick was acquired by the Jets last offseason from Houston to serve as a backup to Geno Smith. If he reaches those added incentives, it would mean he has, at the least, matched his performance from a season ago. They are either nearly Super Bowl competitors, or they’re going to have a very good draft pick.
Barring injury, is there any way Fitzpatrick could lose his Week 1 starting job during camp, based on how he plays?
“I’ve improved as a quarterback and I believe in the guys around me”, he said.
“As I walked in, I told Coach Bowles, ‘Sorry I’m late, ‘” Fitzpatrick said. The Jets have other quarterback pieces to go to in the future such as Christian Hackenberg, a player that needs a year or two to learn the National Football League and Geno Smith, a decent quarterback that has a lot to learn.
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“All along, all I wanted was a fair and reasonable deal”, he said. That touched Fitzpatrick, who feels indebted to those teammates who supported him while his contract situation played out.
