It’s June and that means it’s about the time of year for Hall of Famer Joe Namath to drop some scorching hot contrarian takes on the Jets in an effort to get his name back in the local tabloids. This time around, Broadway Joe assessed the Jets’ quarterback situation and – shockingly – he took the exact opposite position of everyone else in the football world.
“I think Geno [Smith] is going to be the starting quarterback no matter if [Ryan] Fitzpatrick comes back or not,” Namath said (via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter on Twitter).
While you weigh the skills of Smith versus one of the league’s better quarterbacks in 2015, here’s a look at the latest on the Jets:
- Jets coach Todd Bowles says the team does not have a “drop-dead deadline” on the Fitzpatrick situation, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com writes. The coach added that he has no problem with the situation lingering until training camp. The Jets reportedly aren’t comfortable offering Fitzpatrick a one-year deal worth $12MM, while Fitzpatrick himself is content to wait out the club in the hopes of landing a better deal. The stare down continues with no end in sight.
- When asked about Muhammad Wilkerson, Bowles said that his absence from minicamp will not be a distraction (link via Cimini). “That would be his prerogative. Business is business. We’d love to have him here, but if he feels like he doesn’t want to be here, that’s on him. I’ve got a team to coach,” Bowles said.
- Count cornerback Darrelle Revis among the Jets players that disagree with Namath and want to see Fitzpatrick back with the team ASAP. “We want him back, we want to see him walk in this locker room,” Revis said Tuesday (link via Seth Walker of the New York Daily News). “Ryan is a big part of our success. He definitely is. He came here, he’s broken a bunch of records in the quarterback category. And he was a big part of our offense. This has been going on all offseason and we’re waiting for him to come back and play.”
- Jets backup center Wesley Johnson has a fractured bone in his hand/wrist area, a source tells Cimini. No surgery will be necessary, however, and the hope is that he will be back by training camp.