In the wake of the locker-room altercation that left Geno Smith with a broken jaw, the Jets are in the preliminary stages of adding another quarterback to their roster, tweets Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.
It makes sense that the team would want to add another veteran to the mix while Smith is out, since Ryan Fitzpatrick would be the only signal-caller on the roster with NFL experience — rookies Bryce Petty and Jake Heaps are also on the Jets’ roster, but Heaps is likely just a camp arm and a potential practice squad candidate, while the club would probably rather not have Petty see regular-season action this year.
One potential target for the Jets may be Rex Grossman, according to Rand Getlin of the NFL Network, who tweets that the team reached out to the veteran free agent. However, Grossman is dealing with an injury he suffered during his training, and would need a few weeks to get ready, so the Jets figure to consider other options as well.
As we wait to see which direction the Jets go, here’s more from around the AFC East:
- Jonathan Martin, the offensive tackle at the center of the Dolphins‘ bullying scandal in 2013, explained in a since-deleted tweet that he decided to retire from the NFL because “in the end, football was just a job, albeit a fun and well-paying one.” Alluding to the health concerns inherent in being an NFL player, Martin added that “being in a wheelchair at 50 isn’t worth any amount of money,” per Bill Voth of the Black and Blue Review. As Voth observes, another Martin tweet in which the former lineman compliments his Panthers and 49ers teammates, without mentioning his Dolphins teammates, serves as a reminder that Martin’s time in Miami didn’t exactly go smoothly.
- Jim Turner, the offensive line coach who was dismissed by the Dolphins after Ted Wells published his report on the 2013 bullying scandal, filed a lawsuit against Wells and his law firm, but didn’t name the Dolphins or the NFL as defendants, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
- Former Clemson cornerback Garry Peters is working out for the Bills, a league source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Peters signed with the Panthers as an undrafted free agent earlier this offseason, but was cut at the end of July by Carolina.