By: Nick Stasiak
It has been the question ever since the week 17 loss to the Bills that ended the Jets season: what should they do with Ryan Fitzpatrick? Had Fitzpatrick not thrown three fourth quarter interceptions in that game against the Bills and led the Jets to the playoffs he would be signed to the team right now. That didn’t happen though, and now here we are. There are pros and cons with bringing Fitzpatrick back.
Some good things with bringing Fitzpatrick back would be the chemistry he has with his receivers. Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker are both very outspoken with wanting Fitzpatrick back. Fitzpatrick also did just set the Jets single season touchdown record with 31. He showed very good signs in his first season with the Jets and nearly led them to the playoffs.
There are negatives with bringing Fitzpatrick back. One being he is only a stopgap quarterback. He will only start for one maybe two years. The future for the Jets at the quarterback position is Christian Hackenberg. Fitzpatrick also has never been the playoffs in his career. In 2015 he had the best season of his entire career and he still couldn’t lead his team to the playoffs. So why should the Jets believe he can lead them there in 2016? Another negative is the money he wants. It is reported that he wants around 14 and 16 million dollars. The Jets offer reportedly stands at around 8 and 10 millions dollars. So they are not close with a contract.
Ultimately, fans would be fine if the Jets brought Fitzpatrick back, mainly because the connection he has with the players. But fans would also likely be fine if they don’t bring him back, as some would like to see what Geno Smith can do with this offense. For now we just have to wait and see how this all plays out.
Featured Image via Flickr/Jeffrey Beall
