Bryce Petty

AFC East Notes: Bills, Ryan, Jets, McCown

May 3rd, 2017 at 2:09pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bills parted ways with Rex Ryan last December in part because of the coach’s declaration that the season was over when the playoffs were still in reach, Albert Breer of The MMQB writes. Ryan was believed to be on the hot seat in Buffalo, but that incident apparently sealed his fate. Months later, the Bills have a new head coach in Sean McDermott and Ryan has a new job as an analyst for ESPN.

Here’s more from the AFC East:

New Jets quarterback Josh McCown said his understanding is “it’s full competition between the three” QBs currently on the roster, meaning that he’ll duke it out with Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty for the main gig (Twitter link via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY). McCown, 38 in July, has $6MM fully guaranteed on his Jets deal. The Cowboys also wanted him, but they didn’t offer nearly as much.
Jets owner Woody Johnson says he will judge his team based on development this season rather than wins and losses, as USA Today’s Andy Vasquez writes. “Really, the way I want to be judged, hopefully from the fans’ standpoint, is just watch how we improve during the year,” Johnson said Tuesday on ESPN Radio. “Look at each individual on the team and if they’re getting better, that’s a mark of progress. That’s what we’re looking for.” That could be good news for coach Todd Bowles and GM Mike Maccagnan since the Jets’ roster is among the worst in the league.
Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler didn’t get the long-term deal that he wanted, but he reported to the team’s voluntary workouts this week.
Dolphins running back Damien Williams wants a raise, but he doesn’t have much leverage.

Jets Notes: QBs, McCown, Catanzaro, Ijalana

March 28th, 2017 at 5:00pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jets will stage a competition at quarterback in 2017, and Josh McCown, Bryce Petty, and Christian Hackenberg will all be given a chance to win the job, head coach Todd Bowles told reporters, including Brian Costello of the New York Post (Twitter link). McCown signed a one-year deal that comes with $6MM guaranteed and $7MM available via incentives, so the 37-year-old has to be considered the favorite in any sort of battle. But Hackenberg, specifically, could be handed a shot to play in 2017 after being selected in the second round of last year’s draft.

Here’s more out of New York:

Bowles would not rule out the possibility of the Jets drafting a quarterback with the sixth overall pick, and as such, is open to keeping four signal-callers on the roster for the second consecutive season, according to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY and Connor Hughes of NJ.com (Twitter links). Gang Green has been lined to the majority of the quarterbacks at the top of the draft — including Mitch Trubisky, Deshaun Watson, and DeShone Kizer, and could conceivably land one at No. 6. The Jets have no interest in adding another veteran QB, however.
New York will add competition “from somewhere” for new kicker Chandler Catanzaro, Bowles said, per Rich Cimini of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Without specifics, that means the Jets could add another kicker in free agency, the draft, or in undrafted free agency. Catanzaro, who signed a one-year deal with $250K guaranteed after being cut loose by Arizona, converted only 75% of his field goal attempts in 2016.
After not employing a fullback in 2016 under former offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, the Jets may sign an FB this offseason, per Bowles (Twitter link via Cimini). New play-caller John Morton may want a fullback, as the Saints (Morton’s former employer) used one on roughly a quarter of their plays. New York recently met with free agent fullback Will Johnson.
Offensive lineman Ben Ijalana‘s two-year deal is worth $10.25MM and contains $3MM guaranteed, tweets Cimini. Ijalana, who will play right tackle opposite Kelvin Beachum, will count for $4.25MM on the Jets’ 2017 salary cap before the club decides on a 2018 option worth $6MM.

AFC Notes: Jets, Titans, Bills, Raiders

January 5th, 2017 at 9:55pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

While the Jets have two recently drafted quarterbacks on their roster in 2015 fourth-round pick Bryce Petty and 2016 second-rounder Christian Hackenberg, the franchise has little faith in either, reports Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. General manager Mike Maccagnan opined Thursday that Petty has starting-caliber potential, but the organization only regards him as a backup behind the scenes, according to Mehta. Petty struggled mightily this season in his first taste of NFL action, completing 56.4 percent of attempts, tossing three touchdowns against seven interceptions and posting a 60.0 passer rating in parts of six games. Hackenberg wasn’t even active until Week 17, when he backed up Ryan Fitzpatrick, and a team source scoffed at the notion Thursday that the ex-Penn State Nittany Lion could be the Jets’ long-term solution. “He will never make it,” the source told Mehta. “Never.” Although Maccagnan stated that Hackenberg made progress during the season, the executive also implied that the Jets will look for an outside starter, revealing that “all options are on the table.”

More from New York and three other AFC cities:

As a reward for a strong debut season as the Titans’ GM, controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk decided Thursday to make Jon Robinson the second-highest-ranking member of the organization. Robinson is now the team’s executive vice president/GM after helping the Titans go from three wins in 2015 to nine victories this season. “This is an acknowledgement of his work and it puts him on equal footing with others in the league who direct football operations,” Strunk said in a statement (via Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com).
Woody Johnson could be under consideration to become the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom when President-elect Donald Trump takes office later this month, but the Jets’ owner downplayed it as speculation Thursday, per the Associated Press. If chosen, Johnson would reportedly hand control of the Jets over to his brother until the appointment ends.
Bills linebacker and pending free agent Zach Brown posted a message Thursday on Instagram referring to his time in Buffalo in the past tense, as Mike Rodak of ESPN.com points out (on Twitter). After spending the first three years of his career in Tennessee, Brown signed a modest deal with the Bills last April. The 27-year-old then emerged as a major bargain, playing 16 games for the fourth time in a row and totaling an AFC-high 149 tackles to go with four sacks and two forced fumbles. Brown, whom Pro Football Focus graded an impressive 17th among 89 qualified linebackers, should fare much better on the open market this offseason.
The Raiders are still optimistic that Matt McGloin will be able to serve as the primary backup to Connor Cook in Saturday’s wild-card game round game in Houston, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. “Moxy,” who’s dealing with a shoulder injury, got some light work in Wednesday.
The Jets worked out Olympic sprinter Tre Houston on Thursday, writes Mehta. Houston competed in the 200 meters for Bermuda at the 2016 Rio Games and projects as a wide receiver.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Jets Place Bryce Petty On IR

December 26th, 2016 at 4:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

Bryce Petty‘s initial NFL sample did not end up lasting too long, with the second-year quarterback suffering an injury against the Patriots that moved the Jets to place him on IR, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).

Petty tore the labrum in his non-throwing shoulder while attempting to tackle Malcolm Butler on a turnover sequence during the Patriots’ Week 16 victory, per Rapoport (via Twitter).

With Geno Smith also on IR, the Jets will be down to primary starter Ryan Fitzpatrick and rookie Christian Hackenberg against the Bills. The latter has not played in a game yet after coming into the league as a second-round pick out of Penn State. Signed to a one-year, $12MM deal after a lengthy offseason impasse between the Ivy League product and the Jets, Fitzpatrick looks set to be in uniform for the last time as a Jet. The 34-year-old could not replicate the solid season he turned in for Gang Green in 2015.

Petty played in five games for the Jets, making four starts. The Baylor alum finishes with 809 passing yards, a 56 percent completion rate, and a 3-to-7 touchdown pass-to-interception ratio.

Despite drafting quarterbacks in each of the past two years and three of the past four, the Jets boast one of the more unsettled signal-caller positions in football, with both Fitzpatrick and Smith as looming UFAs and the two younger passers’ values undetermined at this point.

AFC Notes: Bouye, RG3, Green, Jets, Nelson

December 25th, 2016 at 9:19am CST by Sam Robinson

Entering this season as a relative unknown, Texans fourth-year corner A.J. Bouye may have moved himself in position to sign a lucrative NFL contract for the first time. A UDFA in 2013 that started just eight games total before 2016, Bouye has stood out on a team that made far bigger investments at corner. A deal for Bouye could cost a team as much as $8MM-per-year in 2017, the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson notes.

Wilson describes a growing buzz around the physical defender, who could join Trumaine Johnson, Prince Amukamara, Stephon Gilmore and Darius Butler among the list of cornerbacks who stand tot be UFAs. Bouye rates behind only Chris Harris, Malcolm Butler and Aqib Talib among corners this season, according to Pro Football Focus, and will have the chance to stand out on a national stage in a home playoff game.

The Texans have two corners who stand to make more than $7MM next season in Kareem Jackson and Johnathan Joseph. Separating from Jackson would be more difficult financially than Joseph if Houston wished to retain Bouye since $4.5MM in dead money would match the amount the team could save by making that move. Houston stands to have $17MM-plus in cap space prior to making any offseason moves.

PFR’s Dallas Robinson ranked Bouye ninth among all players on his free agent power rankings.

Here’s more from the AFC.

Browns quarterback Robert Griffin III suffered a concussion on Saturday, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. His status for Week 17 is not immediately clear. RG3 missed most of this season with a shoulder injury but did become the only Browns QB to start in a win. However, the Browns gave Cody Kessler — the expected Week 17 starter, per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal — several starts this season and have a decision to make on Griffin. He’s due a relatively small $750K roster bonus in March and would count $9.25MM against Cleveland’s 2017 cap. The Browns could afford that, but Griffin didn’t give them much reason to trust him in 2016.
Andy Dalton confirmed a Saturday report that ownership made the decision to yank A.J. Green from the Bengals‘ Week 16 game plan, sending the wideout home for Christmas at his request, Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. “He felt like he was in position [to help the team with a return] and the ownership made a decision,” Dalton said. “Would I have loved to have him out there? Absolutely. But the decision was made.”
Bryce Petty also is uncertain for Week 17 after hearing a pop in his shoulder during the Jets‘ loss to the Patriots. The second-year passer left the stadium with his shoulder in a sling and will undergo a Christmas Day MRI, Daryl Slater of NJ.com reports. Ryan Fitzpatrick could be called on to make one more start for Gang Green in the event the team holds Petty out against the Bills. Todd Bowles didn’t dismiss a Christian Hackenberg start, but the rookie has not played in a game this season.
By intercepting his fifth pass of the season today, Raiders safety Reggie Nelson earned a $250K incentive bonus, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. In the first season of a two-year contract with Oakland, Nelson made the Pro Bowl for a second straight year and now has 13 INTs in the past two seasons.

Zach Links contributed to this report

AFC Notes: Colts, Patriots, Petty

December 18th, 2016 at 11:10am CST by Rory Parks

There are plenty of pundits who expect the Colts to part ways with at least one of head coach Chuck Pagano and GM Ryan Grigson at season’s end, but owner Jim Irsay has downplayed the notion of major changes, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Irsay said, “I would say it would be unlikely for any changes to occur, honestly. It’s unlikely, but look, we’ll see when we sit down and thoroughly vet the season.” One reason for Irsay’s hesitation is the fact that the first five year’s of the Pagano/Andrew Luck regime has gone better than the first five years of Peyton Manning‘s career in Indianapolis.

Now for more from the AFC:

DT Darius Kilgo may be on the Patriots‘ practice squad, but the Pats are not paying him that way. According to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe in a series of Twitter links, New England is paying Kilgo $30,882 per week, which gives him the same compensation he would have received under his original contract (the practice squad minimum is $6,900 per week). The team also guaranteed him $92,647, the equivalent of three weeks pay. As Volin observes, the team is attempting to “do right” by Kilgo, who was claimed off waivers from the Broncos when it looked like Alan Branch would be suspended, but who was cut and re-signed to the practice squad when Branch won his appeal.
The Patriots have until Wednesday to activate quarterback Jacoby Brissett to their active roster, or he will revert to injured reserve and be lost for the season. Mike Reiss of ESPN.com believes the Patriots do plan to activate Brissett but that they are waiting until the last possible moment to do so because they do not have an obvious corresponding roster move to make. We had previously heard that the team was expected to activate Brissett on Friday.
Cyrus Jones has had a disappointing rookie year for the Patriots, but the second-round selection out of Alabama is not going anywhere, as Volin writes in a separate piece. Jones, who was coveted for his return skills, has been a disaster as a return man this season, and he hasn’t fared much better as a corner. But even if he does not get much playing time the rest of the season, Jones will get the chance to right the ship in 2017.
Jets quarterback Bryce Petty was knocked out of last night’s loss to Miami, and initial reports suggested that he had the wind knocked out him. Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports that Petty will have a CT scan on Monday to determine if he has a punctured lung.
The injury that landed Jaguars TE Julius Thomas on IR was a fractured tailbone, according to ESPN’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter). The Jags could save $4.7MM against the cap if they were to cut Thomas, who has disappointed since Jacksonville made him the highest-paid tight end in the game last March.
One reason for the Raiders‘ success this season is the fact that they have done such a good job at getting contributions from undrafted free agents. As Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com observes, Oakland started the season with four undrafted free agents on the 53-man roster, and now have seven on the active roster. That list includes players like Jalen Richard, Johnny Holton, and Marquette King.

East Notes: Coughlin, Jets, Petty, Reed, Giants

December 7th, 2016 at 3:15pm CST by Zachary Links

Could Tom Coughlin return to the Meadowlands…as the Jets‘ coach? Brian Costello of the New York Post argues that Gang Green could use a disciplinarian like the 70-year-old Coughlin and lists him as one of 12 possible names in the event that the Jets move on from coach Todd Bowles. Others on the list include Seattle offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, former Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher, coach-turned-commentator Jon Gruden, and New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. While speculation around Bowles’ job security has ramped up in recent weeks, I would be surprised if he was not given a third year to turn things around. However, if the Jets do seek a new head coach this spring, I think it would behoove them to seek an offensive-minded coach. Since the Rich Kotite disaster of more than 20 years ago, the Jets have only had head coaches with defensive backgrounds.

Here’s more from the East divisions:

Now that Bryce Petty has been installed as the Jets‘ starting quarterback, is it possible that we’ll see rookie Christian Hackenberg take the field this season? “Not unless Bryce gets hurt,” Bowles said (link via Costello). “Right now, I do not see him getting any playing time.” It’s pretty telling that the Jets are not willing to put the Penn State product on the field, even in a lost season. Word is that Hackenberg is green, but he might be even more raw than scouts realized at the time of the draft.
There’s still no clear timetable for Jordan Reed‘s return to the field, JP Finlay of CSNMidAtlantic.com writes. “Jordan will be day-to-day,” Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. “You know, we just have to wait and see.” For the season, Reed has 59 catches for 630 yards and five touchdowns in just nine games. Considered to be one of the best tight ends in the game, Reed is dealing with a painful shoulder injury.
The Giants could finally be getting Justin Pugh back in the lineup. When asked about returning to action, the left guard said that he is preparing as though he will suit up this week, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post writes. The interior lineman has been out with a sprained MCL since Nov. 6.

Jets To Start Bryce Petty At QB

December 6th, 2016 at 9:09am CST by Zachary Links

Bryce Petty will be the Jets’ starting quarterback the rest of the way, coach Todd Bowles told reporters after last night’s 41-10 loss on national TV. Bowles added that the plan was to hand things off to Petty for the final month of the season heading into Monday night’s game and he insists that the decision was not based on the team’s embarrassing loss to the Colts.

Ryan Fitzpatrick got the start last night and completed five of 12 passes for 81 yards and an interception. In the second half, the Jets turned to Petty, and he completed 11-of-25 passes for 135 yards and a score. Now, as the back pages of New York tabloids are calling for Bowles’ head, the Jets will evaluate their 25-year-old signal caller over the last four games of the season.

Fitzpatrick, for all intents and purposes, will be a free agent after this season. The Jets can’t blame him solely for their 3-9 mark, but his performance hasn’t exactly helped them this year either. Gang Green will move on from Fitzpatrick this spring and they want to know exactly what they have in Petty before they survey the market for available quarterbacks. If Kirk Cousins is retained by the Redskins, the Jets and other QB-needy teams will be left with the Jay Cutlers of the world and a weak slate of options to choose from in the draft.

Jets Notes: Quarterbacks, Mangold, Revis

December 3rd, 2016 at 9:01am CST by Ben Levine

Geno Smith hasn’t shown the ability to lead a team during his four years in the league, but you can’t knock the quarterback’s confidence. Talking to Fred Kerber of the New York Post, the 26-year-old said he agrees with his mother when she says the signal-caller’s best is yet to come.

“My mom told me something that was pretty special,” Smith said. “She’d been going to my games since I was a kid and never missed a game. And these past few years, I missed more games than I missed in my life and she said, ‘There’s always a time for that, there’s always a season where you feel like things aren’t going right. And then what comes after that is usually the best part of your life.’”

For what it’s worth, ESPN’s Rich Cimini (via Twitter) wouldn’t rule out Smith sticking around with the Jets in 2017, but he ultimately believes it’s “unlikely.” Smith is set to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

Let’s take a look at some more notes out of the Big Apple…

Speaking of quarterbacks, Cimini can’t envision the team cutting bait with Bryce Petty (Twitter link). Furthermore, even considering Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s impending free agency, the writer can’t see the team selecting a quarterback in this year’s draft. Instead, Cimini points to a pair of veteran quarterbacks the Jets could pursue: Mike Glennon and Jay Cutler.
Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com believes the Jets could cut veteran offensive lineman Nick Mangold this offseason. However, the writer cautions that the team could offer him a “token pay cut” like they did with D’Brickashaw Ferguson.
Ralph Vacchiano of SNY writes that it “remains possible” that cornerback Darrelle Revis could return to the Jets next season. Fitzgerald tweets that the Jets are on the hook for $6MM of Revis’ salary, so they might as well get some return on the investment. Earlier this week, the veteran cornerback dismissed reports that he’s ready to retire.

Jets Revert To Ryan Fitzpatrick As Starter

November 21st, 2016 at 1:00pm CST by Zachary Links

What’s old is new again in New York. The Jets announced that Ryan Fitzpatrick will start for them in Week 12, leaving Bryce Petty to serve as his backup.

When asked why he made the decision, coach Todd Bowles explained that he’s doing it because Fitzpatrick is healthy again. Many Jets fans are probably groaning at this since Fitzpatrick is likely not in the picture for 2017 while Petty could be a useful piece for the future.

Petty had flashes of brilliance against the Rams in Week 10, including a 52-yard bomb to Robby Anderson. Ultimately, however, the Rams D ramped things up as the game went along and the game turned into a low-scoring affair for both sides. Case Keenum wound up losing his job to Jared Goff after that game and Petty has lost his grip on the starting role.

Recently, Jets GM Mike Maccagnan claimed that he has “no regrets” about re-signing Fitzpatrick, but we have our doubts given his major struggles this season. The Jets could theoretically keep Fitzpatrick around, but it’s much more likely that they’ll cut him loose and absorb a $5MM cap charge in 2017 as a result.

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