Ryan Fitzpatrick

Jets Notes: Fitzpatrick, Wilkerson, Revis

June 15th, 2016 at 10:37am CST by Zachary Links

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.

AFC East Notes: Fitz, Gronk, Gilmore, Darby

June 13th, 2016 at 8:31pm CST by Dallas Robinson

There still isn’t movement on a potential deal between the Jets and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, and it doesn’t seem like things will change heading into minicamp, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Talks could be at a stalemate given that New York reportedly isn’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. Still, it’s hard to buy that Gang Green will be comfortable entering the season with Geno Smith as their starter, and with so few clubs around the NFL looking for quarterback help, the Jets seem like the best option for Fitzpatrick at this point in the offseason.

Here’s more from the AFC East…

Rob Gronkowski was present at the Patriots‘ workout today after not attending last week’s sessions, tweets Rapoport. According to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, New England was simply being cautious by holding Gronk out of last week’s workout, as the tight end is dealing with an undisclosed injury (but one that doesn’t figure to be a long-term ailment).
Though no extension between the Bills and Stephon Gilmore is on the verge of being signed, the star cornerback is expected to report to minicamp this week, news that Rapoport confirms (via Twitter). Gilmore himself tweeted that he’s only attending camp to prevent being fined, and Rapoport says that Gilmore’s presence probably won’t do much to help contract talks along.
Fellow Bills cornerback Ronald Darby can’t be extended for two more years, but he’s aware of how much defensive back salaries are rising, writes Vic Carrucci of the Buffalo News. The Bills, in some respects, think Darby is a better player than Gilmore, which could be one reason they’re reluctant to extend Gilmore. With a Darby deal to worry about down the road, signing Gilmore now might not be the right call.
The Bills are working out former Maryland offensive lineman Andrew Zeller, reports Josh Reed of WIVB (Twitter link). Zeller, who made 12 starts at guard for the Terrapins last season, was signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent, but was waived last week.
The Bills agreed to terms with former Rex Ryan pupil, signing ex-Jets defensive end Leger Douzable to a contract earlier today. Douzable, 30, will work as a five-technique in Buffalo’s 3-4 scheme.

AFC Notes: Jets QBs, Raiders, Vegas, Chargers

June 10th, 2016 at 7:02pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

With seemingly no progress being made in talks between the Jets and free agent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com told Toucher and Rich of CBS Boston (video link via CSNNE.com) that he could envision Gang Green setting a deadline for the 33-year-old to sign. If the Jets and Fitzpatrick aren’t able to reach an agreement this summer, the team believes it would be able to “tread water” with Geno Smith under center, says Breer. The Jets were prepared to go into last season with Smith as their starter before then-teammate IK Enemkpali broke his jaw with a punch, thereby leading to the Fitzpatrick era. Notably, Fitzpatrick’s output in 2015 was vastly superior to Smith’s when he was the Jets’ starter the previous two seasons.

In other AFC news…

The Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee will meet June 23 to endorse the construction of a stadium that would house the Raiders and UNLV, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). It remains up in the air whether the state of Nevada can raise the projected $750MM needed to build the stadium, but if it does, the Raiders will seek the NFL’s approval to relocate, says Cole.
San Diego voters cut three candidates for City Attorney this week, which seems to bode poorly for the Chargers’ plans for a $1.15 billion downtown stadium and convention center, writes Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The two candidates who advanced, Republican Robert Hickey and Democrat Mara Elliott, are on record as saying the Chargers’ plan will need two-thirds voter approval. Bryan Pease, who received the fewest votes and is now out of the running, thought the stadium could come to fruition with a 50 percent plus one vote. In regards to the city helping fund a stadium, Elliott said, “I’d rather see the money go toward something that benefits the public. Public safety, roads, our infrastructure is crumbling. We’ve got water issues in the City of San Diego. So in my opinion, there are more critical concerns for San Diegans than there is building a private Chargers stadium.” The Chargers have until Jan. 15, 2017, to join the Rams in Los Angeles, so it stands to reason that they’ll depart by then if a stadium deal isn’t reached.
Earlier this evening, we checked in on the latest Broncos rumors.

East Notes: Randle, Jets, Cowboys, Bills

June 9th, 2016 at 6:01pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Wide receiver Rueben Randle joined the Eagles earlier this offseason on a one-year deal after spending the first four seasons of his career with the division-rival Giants. If Randle had it his way, he’d still be with Big Blue. The 25-year-old told Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post he was “a little disappointed” the Giants didn’t show an interest in re-signing him before he headed to Philadelphia. “I just moved on and accepted it for what it was. I would’ve liked to have stayed,” said Randle, who called it “an unfortunate situation.” Randle was a productive and durable member of the Giants during his tenure with them, hauling in 188 passes and 20 touchdowns on 14.1 yards per catch while appearing in 64 straight regular-season games. He racked up 57 receptions and a career-best eight TDs last season.

Here’s more from the NFL’s two East divisions:

With the standoff over a contract between free agent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Jets continuing, word is getting around among agents and players that the team is difficult to deal with, CBS Sports’ Joel Corry told SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link).
Fitzpatrick continues to talk regularly with Jets players, writes ESPN’s Rich Cimini, who opines that de facto starting QB Geno Smith is currently in an awkward position as he tries to assert himself as a team leader. Head coach Todd Bowles disagrees, saying, “I don’t think it clips his wings or anybody else’s.” Of course, if the Jets do re-sign Fitzpatrick at some point, Smith’s roster spot won’t necessarily be safe with recent draft picks Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty also on their depth chart.
Cowboys offensive lineman Ronald Leary – who wants out of Dallas – has switched agencies, according to Liz Mullen of Sports Business Daily. Leary has transferred from Kelley Drye & Warren to CAA Sports.
The Bills will have former Bowling Green quarterback Matt Johnson in for a workout on Monday, Joe Buscaglia of WKBW tweets. He adds that if all goes well, Johnson will participate in minicamp next week.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Breer On RGIII, Miller, Foles, Geno Smith

June 9th, 2016 at 12:44pm CST by Zachary Links

Some would say that RGIII is coming to Cleveland with baggage, but new Browns coach Hue Jackson wouldn’t agree.

“I said this to all the players: Everybody’s slate is clean,” Jackson said, according to Albert Breer of The MMQB. “You always want to give guys the benefit of the doubt coming in, and I have not seen, heard or felt any negativity out of him. That’s the only Robert Griffin I know. He’s been an ideal teammate, a hard worker, he wants to please his coaches and he’s followed directions. That’s all I know.”

Griffin started out red hot with the Redskins before injuries and in-fighting led to his downfall. Eventually, the Redskins found their new franchise quarterback in Kirk Cousins while Griffin was on the outside looking in. Because of the stop-and-start nature of the last few years, Jackson & Co. know that they have a lot of work to do when it comes to the Baylor product.

“I’m not gonna say he’s raw, but he is still developing. And most young quarterbacks are still developing,” Jackson said. “I’d give coach (Mike) Shanahan and his son a lot of credit—he came into the league and they fashioned an offense for him that worked for him. And I’d give him credit too, coming out of the Baylor system, without the traditional footwork you play with, he produced right away. Those guys were able to mesh together a great season, but all that is in his past. It’s about mastering the quarterback position now. Mastery of how to play the position is the key to his success.”

Here’s more from Breer’s column:

Here’s an interesting twist to the Von Miller saga. As previously reported, if Miller opts to sit out the 2016 season, the Broncos will only be able to use the non-exclusive franchise tag on him and will not have the exclusive franchise tag at their disposal. Typically, a team that is able to pry a player away on the non-exclusive tag would have to forfeit two first-round picks to the former team. However, if Miller were to sit out, a union source tells Breer that the compensation price would drop from two first-round picks to a first and a third. I imagine that there are some teams that would at least consider forfeiting two first-round choices to land Miller, regarded as one of the best defensive talents in the game. If the price drops to a first- and third-round choice, I think that market opens up even more. Of course, any team that would sign Miller to an offer sheet would also be giving him a $100MM+ deal with significant guarantees.
The Rams have yet to trade Nick Foles because they believe that his trade value could increase a bit once training camp begins, Breer hears. At that point, rival teams will have injuries under center and other clubs may find that their backups aren’t coming along as planned.
While there is some feeling inside the Jets that they could get by with Geno Smith, many outside of the organization are skeptical. “I think they’ll struggle if [Geno is] the guy,” one rival defensive coach told Breer. “Too inconsistent, stares guys down, average at reading defenses, makes poor decisions. … Fitz is much smarter, more accurate, and a better leader.”
Former Baylor coach Art Briles has been linked to NFL jobs in the past but it seems unlikely that he would be in the mix for a job right now following the program’s recent scandal. However, there are factors beyond those events that could keep Briles from getting a chance in the pros. “The big-picture stuff, he’s good at,” said one AFC scout. “The detail is why his offense would fail in the NFL. His offense at Baylor is not detailed—we’re gonna play tempo, we’re gonna play fast, and we’ll get you with our speed and just out-athlete you because our guys don’t have to think and your guys do.”
Like the RGIII jersey swap above? Follow Pro Football Rumors on Instagram for more great pics.

AFC Mailbags: Bills, Titans, Broncos, Jets

June 4th, 2016 at 11:39am CST by Ben Levine

It’s Saturday, and that means the NFL’s various beat reporters are opening their mailbags and answering questions from the readers. Let’s take a look at some of the notable responses out of the AFC…

Bills coach Rex Ryan and his staff are “operating under the premise that they have to “get it right” this year,” writes Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News. While the writer wouldn’t definitively say if Ryan could end up on the hot seat, he did note that fans have started to recognize the weaknesses in his coaching style, allowing them to question whether he’s actually “the right man for the job.” With a lack of a coach’s salary cap and with more money to use, Carucci does acknowledge that NFL owners are justified in having a quick “trigger finger,” which might not bode well for Ryan.
Bills undrafted free agent Glenn Gronkowski isn’t necessarily competing for a tight end spot, notes Carucci. Instead, Ryan has been using him as more of a fullback, so Rob Gronkowski‘s brother would need to unseat Jerome Felton in order to make the roster.
Running backs DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry are locks to make the Titans roster, and Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com believes Dexter McCluster will also make the team. As a result, Wyatt sees David Cobb, Bishop Sankey, Antonio Andrews and David Fluellen fighting for one roster spot.
It could be a “make or break” preseason for Broncos running back Kapri Bibbs, writes Mike Klis of 9News.com. With C.J. Anderson, Ronnie Hillman, and Devontae Booker having a secure hold on the top three spots on the depth chart, Bibbs will be competing with Juwan Thompson for one of the final spots on the roster.
The Broncos are trying to extend wideout Emmanuel Sanders, but Klis says it won’t be easy. If the 29-year-old wants to be paid like a top receiver (similar to Jeremy Maclin‘s $11MM annual salary), the Broncos may be priced out of the negotiations.
While a Darrelle Revis-type one-year (plus an option) contract would seemingly make sense for the Jets and Ryan Fitzpatrick, ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini outlines a number of reasons why this scenario probably wouldn’t work. Notably, the Jets apparent leverage would be greatly diminished if Fitzpatrick had an opportunity to test the market again next offseason.

AFC East Notes: Fitzpatrick, Wilkerson, Bills

June 2nd, 2016 at 7:50pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jets are holding firm in their offer of a three-year deal to Ryan Fitzpatrick, but the veteran quarterback would prefer a one-year pact, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). The club would prefer a deal of three years so that it can spread the signing bonus proration over multiple seasons, instead of taking the entire hit in 2016, sources tell Brian Costello of the New York Post. New York is tight on cap space at the moment, and while the team could restructure other contracts in order to fit in a one-year Fitzpatrick salary, it would prefer not to do so.

One solution, per Cole, might be for the Jets to include an opt-out after the 2016 campaign, allowing Fitzpatrick to hit the market again next spring. Another — arguably simpler — solution might be for Gang Green to simply include void years in any deal, which would allow them keep Fitzpatrick’s cap charge low in 2016 before seeing a cap adjustment next season. For now, however, the situation looks to be at a standstill, leading Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk to examine the scenario from the perspective of both player and team.

Here’s more from the AFC East:

The Fitzpatrick affair isn’t the only contract squabble the Jets are currently undertaking, as the club still has an outstanding contract negotiation with franchise player Muhammad Wilkerson. Speaking to reporters today, head coach Todd Bowles reiterated that New York hopes to eventually reach an accord with the standout defensive end. “We want to sign all our good players. But that doesn’t always work out,” Bowles told Kimberley Martin of Newsday. “But with the rules these days they make it very hard after four or five years to keep your own. So we’ve got to try to finagle and find ways to do that and have enough money to try to do so.”
Joe Buscalgia of WKBW takes a look at several intriguing roster questions that face the Bills this summer, including who will be lining up to safety Aaron Williams when the season begins. While there was some thought that free agent signee Robert Blanton might push for the starting job, head coach Rex Ryan made it clear that veteran Corey Graham is viewed as the other starting safety opposite Williams. Buscaglia also touches on several areas of note, including how edge rusher IK Enemkpali will fit a 3-4 defense, and how former second-round pick Javier Arenas can make the squad.
There have been conflicting reports as to whether Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler plans to push for a new contract prior to the 2016 season, and if so, exactly how much leverage the former undrafted free agent would have in negotiations. CSNNE.com examines the situation and discusses if the issue will linger throughout the summer in their latest video.

Jets Won’t Offer One-Year, $12MM Deal To Ryan Fitzpatrick

June 2nd, 2016 at 9:22am CST by Zachary Links

Last week, we learned that the Jets have offered Ryan Fitzpatrick a three-year deal worth $24MM, with half of that sum coming in year one. Some have suggested that the Jets could entice the QB to accept the offer if they simply cut out the final two years of that deal and make in a one-year, $12MM pact. Unfortunately, that’s not going to work for Gang Green. The Jets are not interested in giving Fitzpatrick a one-year, $12MM deal, sources tell Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.

If the Jets were to make that offer to the 33-year-old, they would be increasing the annual average of the deal by 50% and increasing their own salary cap hit for 2015. Mehta notes that, in theory, the Jets could increase their ~$3MM in cap space by converting the base salary of some players to signing bonuses. However, the Jets do not appear inclined to do that sort of contract tinkering with notable candidates such as Buster Skrine, Marcus Gilchrist, Eric Decker, Brandon Marshall, and perhaps even Darrelle Revis.

The Jets also want to have Fitzpatrick around as an insurance policy in 2017, Mehta writes, in the event that second-round pick Christian Hackenberg is not ready to take the reins. For these reasons, the Jets would only entertain a one-year offer for $8MM, an amount that would match the AAV of their current three-year offer to the veteran.

While the deadline for a deal “seems to be” the start of training camp, Mehta writes that the Jets could “move on” from Fitzpatrick sooner rather than later if a deal does not materialize. Personally, I would be surprised if the Jets truly break off talks with Fitzpatrick as long as he remains on the open market. Publicly, the Jets have expressed confidence in Geno Smith, but the team surely knows that there is a sizable gap between the two QBs.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AFC East Notes: Brady, Jets, Watkins, Jordan

June 1st, 2016 at 5:17pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has added a couple of powerful allies – the AFL-CIO and high-profile attorney Kenneth Feinberg – as he seeks to overturn his four-game suspension for his role in the Deflategate scandal, details The Associated Press. In a friend of the court brief filed Monday, the AFL-CIO asked the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a three-judge panel’s April decision to reinstate Brady’s suspension. According to the labor federation, the panel made a mistake in regarding NFL commissioner Roger Goodell as a neutral arbitrator. Meanwhile, Feinberg claims that Goodell “impermissibly exceeded the scope of his authority” and “used the vehicle of arbitration as a mechanism to rewrite the underlying bargain between the parties, to the sole advantage of his organization.”

As for the rest of the AFC East…

There was a report last week that the Jets’ Eric Decker was skipping OTAs because of the team’s lack of progress in re-signing quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, but the receiver issued a denial Wednesday. “That’s not the reason I wasn’t there,” he said (Twitter link via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News). Decker also expressed confidence that Fitzpatrick will eventually re-up with Gang Green, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post. On the other hand, fellow wideout Brandon Marshall wouldn’t say whether his absence was on account of the Fitzpatrick situation (Twitter link via Costello). However, Marshall did acknowledge Wednesday that the Fitzpatrick-less Jets must “move forward and try to figure out how we can win some games.”
When news of a minor foot fracture surfaced earlier this month, the expectation was that Bills receiver Sammy Watkins would be ready for training camp. Based on the words of Watkins and head coach Rex Ryan, that’s now up in the air, as Kevin Patra of NFL.com writes. “The goal is the regular season,” said Watkins, whose walking boot will come off Thursday. “All I know is that Sammy won’t miss time in the regular season,” Ryan commented.
When asked about defensive end Dion Jordan applying for reinstatement, Dolphins coach Adam Gase said, “I’ll worry about that when it comes around” (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of USA Today Sports). Jordan, the third pick in the 2013 draft, had to sit out last season after the league suspended him for violating its substance abuse policy. Jordan has missed 22 games because of suspensions during his short career and has totaled just three sacks in 26 contests.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Latest On Talks Between Jets, Ryan Fitzpatrick

June 1st, 2016 at 11:22am CST by Zachary Links

Jets wide receivers Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall reportedly skipped OTAs last week in a show of solidarity with Ryan Fitzpatrick, but as ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini writes, neither player has gone on record to confirm the reason for their absence. Whether it was Fitzpatrick-related or not, Cimini writes, their decision to stay home (or, in the case of Decker, go on vacation) changed the tenor of the quarterback’s negotiations, increasing tensions between the two sides.

Here’s the latest on the Jets:

Despite the chatter over the past week, the Jets and Fitzpatrick are not any closer to a deal than they were previously, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. He adds that the salary stalemate continues and could carry on for a while. Fitzpatrick is reportedly content to wait out the Jets and take this standoff into training camp.
If Fitzpatrick goes elsewhere, he’ll be taking true market value, a league source with experience negotiating contracts tells Mike Florio of PFT. “If a player ‘takes less’ to go somewhere else, he is really only being paid what the actual market will bear,” the source said. I would argue that this is not exactly the case as the free agency market in early March is drastically different than the market in June. At this stage of the offseason, most teams have addressed their needs and spent the majority of their available money.
Fitzpatrick is not ready to accept the Jets’ three-year contract offer which includes $12MM in year one but offers little in the way of guarantees after that point. Brian Costello of the New York Post opines that a compromise could be reached by just chopping off the final two years of the deal, making it a one-year, fully guaranteed $12MM pact instead.
On Wednesday morning, defensive end Stephen Bowen announced his retirement from the NFL. Bowen spent 2015 with the Jets.

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