This isn’t a rebuilding situation; it’s a veteran team with championship-starved players such as Brandon Marshall, Nick Mangold, David Harris. and the list goes on.
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After an uncomfortably long ‘negotiation, ‘ the 33-year-old quarterback agreed to a one-year, $12 million deal with the team Wednesday. The team had reportedly offered Fitzpatrick numerous proposals that weren’t to his liking in recent months, including a three-year, $24 million deal with $15 million guaranteed.
Jets’ training camp opened earlier in the day.
“It definitely was a long process”.
A day ago, there were reports that the Jets and Ryan Fitzpatrick were far apart on a deal. That was easier said than done as people continued asking him about his contract, texting him. For five or six months it was like a dark cloud hovering over him.
“I’m just happy we have everybody in camp which gives us a chance to get some camaraderie, get down some chemistry”.
Rapoport then said that talks were “heating up”, before announcing the signing.
“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.
I wouldn’t take him as my #1 starter, but Fitzpatrick could be a great addition to your team as a #2, especially if you can pair him with Tom Brady.
The Jets are Fitzpatrick’s sixth National Football League team during an 11 season career.
Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and the New York Jets have finally reached an agreement for the 2016 season.
Fitzpatrick said it was painful to be so close to his teammates and unable to practice with them.
Fitzpatrick threw a career-high 31 touchdowns, a Jets franchise record, and 3,905 passing yards. 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.
He said he hopes to better all of those numbers. “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”.
He added: “I thought that it would always get done”.
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 wanted something that was fair and reasonable. “That’s all I wanted”. Both parties expressed a desire for a reunion in 2016, and Fitzpatrick failed to garner any other offers in free agency, yet the two sides remained at an impasse until the Jets finally had enough and approached Fitzpatrick with their final offer.
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That pushes Geno Smith back down to No. 2 after he spent the offseason running the offense while Fitzpatrick and the Jets did their extended contract tango.
