Ryan Fitzpatrick: MERGED

[Rangers9]

Bowles wasn't using the word "if" before yesterday when talking about Fitz returning. It's a big difference.

[Saul Goodman]

Looking forward to having another season of Fitzpatrick under center. He was excellent this year, a pleasure to watch. 

[kelly]

-- The New York Jets want Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Fitzpatrick wants the Jets. Now they have to work together to reach a contract.

One day after throwing three fourth-quarter interceptions in a season-ending loss to Buffalo that wrecked the Jets' playoff chances, Fitzpatrick received an endorsement Monday from coach Todd Bowles, who said he wants the 11-year veteran as his starting quarterback in 2016."Obviously, it's a pretty high priority," Bowles said of Fitzpatrick's pending free agency. "He's the quarterback. He had a great year for us. We want him back.

"If he comes back, he'll be the starter," he added, saying the poor finish "can't tarnish" what Fitzpatrick accomplished.

Fitzpatrick said he loved his first season with the team and wants to return.

"I hope so," Fitzpatrick said Monday in a somber locker room. "I don't want to live with hypotheticals, but I had a lot of fun this year. It's the most fun I've ever had in a season, with the guys in this locker room and the run we had in December. Hopefully, I can be back and can continue to build on that."Fitzpatrick set a franchise record with 31 touchdown passes and led the Jets to a 10-6 record, but he imploded in a 22-17 loss to the Buffalo Billsin Sunday's season finale. He threw more interceptions in the final 10 minutes than he did in the previous five games (all victories). It was a devastating defeat for the Jets, who were guaranteed a playoff spot had they won.

Despite the nightmarish ending, Fitzpatrick, 33, believes he's "a better football player now than I've been at any point in my career." In New York, he clicked with his teammates and offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, his former coach with the Bills."This is obviously a place I want to be, a place I'm comfortable with, but we'll see how everything goes," said Fitzpatrick, who made $3.25 million in the final year of his contract.

The Jets inherited the contract after acquiring Fitzpatrick for a sixth-round pick in a trade with the Houston Texans last March.Previously, team officials had said they'd like to re-sign Fitzpatrick, who received a strong endorsement from wide receiver Brandon Marshall.Marshall said "it's really important" to keep Fitzpatrick, and he's convinced it will happen."Oh, no doubt," Marshall said. "I mean, he's definitely coming back. He'll be back.

"He's a smart businessman, and our guys upstairs are smart. They'll figure it out. I feel like they want him here. I feel like he wants to be here. I know he wants to be here. We want him here."I don't think it'll be a distraction or a problem for the team because Fitz understands the business. Whatever it is -- the minimum salary or $100 million -- he'll deserve every bit of it."

The Jets have only two quarterbacks under contract -- Geno Smith and rookie Bryce Petty. Smith was the projected starter until he was punched in the face by former teammate IK Enemkpali in August, resulting in a broken jaw.A defiant Smith, saying he will have "10 times more motivation" this offseason, refused to concede anything for 2016. He made it clear he believes he's a starting-caliber quarterback."If you're saying I don't have an opportunity here, I don't believe that," Smith said. "We don't know what's going to happen, what's going to transpire. We have to wait and see."

Smith addressed his tumultuous season, saying the adversity made him a better person and player."I'm extremely competitive," he said. "I was put in a tough situation this year. I did my best to handle it in the best way possible. It's probably the first time I didn't play since I was 8 years old. I want to be out there, we all do.

"I use things as motivation, as fuel to my fire. Everything I went through, everything that's been said, I listen to. I hear it."

>   http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14501857/pending-free-agent-ryan-fitzpatrick-hopes-re-sign-new-york-jets

[Warfish]

2 things I don't understand .    Why do Jet fans automatically think that Geno Smith will be released ?

Where is it carved in stone that should Fitzpatrick return, he will not have to earn the starting QB Job  ?

Geno Smith will be cut because he is horrible, has been horrible, and finished his reign of horrible by getting beat up by a LB over chump change, thus losing his chance at the #1 job, and losing the one game he was inserted into in 2015.  He's a flat spare tire.  An embarrassment. A punch line.

Fitz will be likely be back because Fitz just finished the single best production season of any QB since Joe Namath, set a record for TD passes, and he's relatively cheap, and available, and the incumbent starter and seems to like it here.  He MAY lose his job, no doubt, but till we have a competitor for him, he's the #1 here.  He only walks if he asks for too much money.

[joewilly12]

Geno Smith will be cut because he is horrible, has been horrible, and finished his reign of horrible by getting beat up by a LB over chump change, thus losing his chance at the #1 job, and losing the one game he was inserted into in 2015.  He's a flat spare tire.  An embarrassment. A punch line.

Fitz will be likely be back because Fitz just finished the single best production season of any QB since Joe Namath, set a record for TD passes, and he's relatively cheap, and available, and the incumbent starter and seems to like it here.  He MAY lose his job, no doubt, but till we have a competitor for him, he's the #1 here.  He only walks if he asks for too much money.

Wait Geno throws 3 picks and we lose a game he's horrible Fitzpatrick does it loses an important game and he gets a pass because of all he did that amounted to nothing we still didnt make the playoffs, 

Im confused I still think we need a QB, 

[Warfish]

Im confused

You sure are.

[joewilly12]

You sure are.

Im confused at your opinion on the QB situation bad is bad irregardless, 

If that were Geno yesterday could you imagine,

[afosomf]

Geno Smith will be cut because he is horrible, has been horrible, and finished his reign of horrible by getting beat up by a LB over chump change, thus losing his chance at the #1 job, and losing the one game he was inserted into in 2015.  He's a flat spare tire.  An embarrassment. A punch line.

Fitz will be likely be back because Fitz just finished the single best production season of any QB since Joe Namath, set a record for TD passes, and he's relatively cheap, and available, and the incumbent starter and seems to like it here.  He MAY lose his job, no doubt, but till we have a competitor for him, he's the #1 here.  He only walks if he asks for too much money.

Please no more Namath and Fitz mentioned in same sentence it is just WRONG

[joewilly12]

Please no more Namath and Fitz mentioned in same sentence it is just WRONG

Exactly its is WRONG Fitzpatrick won NOTHING here, 

[JetsFanatic]

So all QBs in camp namely Petty dont bother putting in any effort the head coach just decided who his QB will be if he's back. 

Fitzpatrick should be #1 going into next season.  He had a solid season and gave us the best QB play in years.

[GandWFan]

Wait Geno throws 3 picks and we lose a game he's horrible Fitzpatrick does it loses an important game and he gets a pass because of all he did that amounted to nothing we still didnt make the playoffs, 

Im confused I still think we need a QB, 

As usual, you are partly right and partly wrong.  You are confused but we do not need a QB.  Just sayin'

[joewilly12]

Fitzpatrick should be #1 going into next season.  He had a solid season and gave us the best QB play in years.

Yes he should and yes he did considering the whirlwind of QBs this organization has put on the field.

[UpstateJetsGuru]

Bowles wasn't using the word "if" before yesterday when talking about Fitz returning. It's a big difference.

Had Bowles coached better, team would not have been in that situation late...Fitz bailed Bowles out A LOT this season with late comeback wins....he should want him back. Bowles with Geno is likely 6-10 and soon to be on the hot seat.

[Tinstar]

Had Bowles coached better, team would not have been in that situation late...Fitz bailed Bowles out A LOT this season with late comeback wins....he should want him back. Bowles with Geno is likely 6-10 and soon to be on the hot seat.

Is the plane already gassed up and has the banner already been printed ?

[JohnnyLV]

Geno Smith will be cut because he is horrible, has been horrible, and finished his reign of horrible by getting beat up by a LB over chump change, thus losing his chance at the #1 job, and losing the one game he was inserted into in 2015.  He's a flat spare tire.  An embarrassment. A punch line.

Fitz will be likely be back because Fitz just finished the single best production season of any QB since Joe Namath, set a record for TD passes, and he's relatively cheap, and available, and the incumbent starter and seems to like it here.  He MAY lose his job, no doubt, but till we have a competitor for him, he's the #1 here.  He only walks if he asks for too much money.

OK what do you sign him for? What is your starting offer? What is your ceiling? Just curious how much value Fitz fans place on the guy.

[Pac]

 

Awesome.  Nothing but confidence in his guy.  Even if he ends up lying that should really shut up any talk for now about Fitz merely "competing" for a starting role.  If Macc inks him, Bowles starts him.  Period.

lol

[pdxgreen]

How we approach the QB situation will define next year. I don't want a situation where Fitz isn't pushed and that just won't happen with Geno as backup. He should be shown the door. If Petty still isn't ready, then for all that is holy, sign somebody. Fitz had a career year and we still didn't make the playoffs. We need to be able to win without a superior QB and push the one we have.

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[NYJ37/12]

His contract should be 2 years for 12-14 million total, with 6-7 guaranteed

he'll never sign for that. You have three teams that will offer him between 9-12 per year over 3 yrs. Rams, Browns, and 49ers. The Jets will need to pay him decent money to keep him. This is just my opinion of course, no evidence. 

[joewilly12]

he'll never sign for that. You have three teams that will offer him between 9-12 per year over 3 yrs. Rams, Browns, and 49ers. The Jets will need to pay him decent money to keep him. This is just my opinion of course, no evidence. 

Then let him walk he's a 33 year old 10 win QB there will be other options like Kaepernick. 

[NYJ37/12]

Then let him walk he's a 33 year old 10 win QB there will be other options like Kaepernick. 

I love your passion but I don't agree with you on this. There is no other option. This guy whom you loathe is coming off one of the best years of any jets qb, ever. Kap, really? That kid is awful, geno type,of awful. The qb market is bare.  Fitz is the right guy for our team. Not the most talented, but the best man for the job. Leader, tough, smart, and a gamer. Stop putting one game on him, it was a team loss, period.

[joewilly12]

I love your passion but I don't agree with you on this. There is no other option. This guy whom you loathe is coming off one of the best years of any jets qb, ever. Kap, really? That kid is awful, geno type,of awful. The qb market is bare.  Fitz is the right guy for our team. Not the most talented, but the best man for the job. Leader, tough, smart, and a gamer. Stop putting one game on him, it was a team loss, period.

The game is most certainly on him he threw 3 INTs in a row, Yes he brought excitement and played solid QB all season not good enough to get the job done. The goal in the NFL is to win the Super Bowl not win over the fan base just because he's a better QB than we've had in ages . I want a Super Bowl and so should you a mediocre QB isn't going to get it for us. 

[T0mShane]

Big picture, the Jets would get lucky if some halfwit team swept in and gave Fitzpatrick 5/$50 mil. They can plausibly say that the price was too high, and they can start over at the position with a higher ceiling guy, even if it costs them 2-3 wins in 2016. Fitzpatrick is purgatory.

[batman10023]

The game is most certainly on him he threw 3 INTs in a row, Yes he brought excitement and played solid QB all season not good enough to get the job done. The goal in the NFL is to win the Super Bowl not win over the fan base just because he's a better QB than we've had in ages . I want a Super Bowl and so should you a mediocre QB isn't going to get it for us. 

and how to yo propose we get one?

[joewilly12]

and how to yo propose we get one?

Either through a trade,free agency or how about do what other teams do and hire the best QB talent scouts available and seek one out the fact that this team hasn't found a franchise QB in years is mind boggling to say the least, 

[mickeyshuler]

Big picture, the Jets would get lucky if some halfwit team swept in and gave Fitzpatrick 5/$50 mil. They can plausibly say that the price was too high, and they can start over at the position with a higher ceiling guy, even if it costs them 2-3 wins in 2016. Fitzpatrick is purgatory.

Awesome. Cause those guys are sitting underneath every tree. sh*t, on the way to get my mail I tripped over two of them and I don't even have trees!

[NYJ37/12]

and how to yo propose we get one?

exactly 

[NYJ37/12]

The game is most certainly on him he threw 3 INTs in a row, Yes he brought excitement and played solid QB all season not good enough to get the job done. The goal in the NFL is to win the Super Bowl not win over the fan base just because he's a better QB than we've had in ages . I want a Super Bowl and so should you a mediocre QB isn't going to get it for us. 

so the punt that set up the easy td, the missed fg, the dropped passes, the bad defense and the horrible coaching had nothing to do with the loss? It was all on 14? Nonsense. 

We finally have a competent, smart, tough, team player at qb and some of you want him out because "we could do better". Ok, bring the guy in who throws 31 td's, one red zone turnover all year, the guy the whole team loves, the guy who rallied the team to 10 wins and we can sign him. Besides fitz, who again?

[NYJ37/12]

Big picture, the Jets would get lucky if some halfwit team swept in and gave Fitzpatrick 5/$50 mil. They can plausibly say that the price was too high, and they can start over at the position with a higher ceiling guy, even if it costs them 2-3 wins in 2016. Fitzpatrick is purgatory.

who? The numbers will be 3/30 with 12 guaranteed.

[Jetsfan80]

Big picture, the Jets would get lucky if some halfwit team swept in and gave Fitzpatrick 5/$50 mil. They can plausibly say that the price was too high, and they can start over at the position with a higher ceiling guy, even if it costs them 2-3 wins in 2016. Fitzpatrick is purgatory.

Signing Fitz in no way hinders our chances of finding a franchise QB. He is 33 years old and they are well aware that he isn't exactly going to be a viable option beyond 2017.

His purpose is to provide a bridge to our future at the position, and a pretty good one at that.

[Sperm Edwards]

Big picture, the Jets would get lucky if some halfwit team swept in and gave Fitzpatrick 5/$50 mil. They can plausibly say that the price was too high, and they can start over at the position with a higher ceiling guy, even if it costs them 2-3 wins in 2016. Fitzpatrick is purgatory.

Except I think they'd match that. If it's a typical contract it's 2 years guaranteed and $30M is fluff he'll only see if he keeps throwing >30 TDs (which he won't). 

I'm preparing myself for the worst, and the numbers you threw out aren't nearly what I'm afraid of. I'm afraid of $16-18M per season...followed by the fan rationalizations of why it was smart. 

[Powpow]

he'll never sign for that. You have three teams that will offer him between 9-12 per year over 3 yrs. Rams, Browns, and 49ers. The Jets will need to pay him decent money to keep him. This is just my opinion of course, no evidence. 

No they wont and even if they do, he still stays here. He has a bond with Gailey and has made considerable strides in his career. He has amazing chemistry with Decker and Marshall here.  He will take less to stay here.  He's not stupid. He's a Harvard grad. he knows there's more to this than money and if he wins here, that money will come anyways in different means. 

[slats]

he'll never sign for that. You have three teams that will offer him between 9-12 per year over 3 yrs. Rams, Browns, and 49ers. The Jets will need to pay him decent money to keep him. This is just my opinion of course, no evidence. 

I just don't think so. Guy is on his fourth team in four years. There's a reason for that. He has a long body of work to look at. He is now coming off his two best years as a pro, but it's still very risky to give a guy like him that kind of coin. His arm isn't getting any stronger. 

Big picture, the Jets would get lucky if some halfwit team swept in and gave Fitzpatrick 5/$50 mil. They can plausibly say that the price was too high, and they can start over at the position with a higher ceiling guy, even if it costs them 2-3 wins in 2016. Fitzpatrick is purgatory.

Lol, maybe. I'd like him back, but I wouldn't want to be locked into him as the starter. This year, he enjoyed a very soft schedule and extremely mild weather right up until the finale - where he did not play well. Yeah, there were drops, but that's largely because his passes get tossed around in the wind. I'd like to bring him back, but at reasonable money that would represent a desire to keep him as a backup long term once a better option was found. 

A lot depends on how they feel about Petty. If they think he can be the guy going forward, I'd like to see him work his way into the starting lineup next year. And I'd keep Geno for the last year of his deal as an experienced, inexpensive backup. If they're unsure on Petty, then they need to draft another QB, probably higher than the fourth round - with Geno almost certainly being the odd man out. But they definitely need another viable option at QB next year. 

[KRL]

You can't get emotional when negotiating contracts.  You love what Fitzpatrick did this year but he's not Rodgers

or Luck.  He had his best success here because he was surrounded by excellent skill players and a familiar OC.

Fitzpatrick needs us, therefore he should not be looking to break the bank.  He needs to give Maccagnan $$$

flexibility to continue to improve the offense so he can be successful.  A 2 year deal for 12-14 million total and

6-7 guaranteed is a fair deal and more than doubles his salary from last year

[#27TheDominator]

Except I think they'd match that. If it's a typical contract it's 2 years guaranteed and $30M is fluff he'll only see if he keeps throwing >30 TDs (which he won't). 

I'm preparing myself for the worst, and the numbers you threw out aren't nearly what I'm afraid of. I'm afraid of $16-18M per season...followed by the fan rationalizations of why it was smart. 

I don't know what I will do if they go over $15M.  I guess there isn't much I can do, but I would pound the table harder than Terry Bradway in protest.  I don't even want to hit $10M.

[BowlesMovement]

Except I think they'd match that. If it's a typical contract it's 2 years guaranteed and $30M is fluff he'll only see if he keeps throwing >30 TDs (which he won't). 

I'm preparing myself for the worst, and the numbers you threw out aren't nearly what I'm afraid of. I'm afraid of $16-18M per season...followed by the fan rationalizations of why it was smart. 

That would shock me if they went $16-$18m per season. 

Why won't he continue to throw 30 TD's? Marshall and Decker will be back, Smith should be back and hopefully shows improvement, and even if not you have to think they will get a 3rd and 4th WR option, and Amaro should be back. Throw in for the beginning of the year, he was not comfortable with the WR's yet, next year he will be.

Unless he gets hurt, I see no reason why he cannot duplicate or improve on his season next year.