Todd Bowles - Pro Football Rumors

East Notes: Jets, Bennett, D-Jax

November 13th, 2016 at 12:30pm CST by Rory Parks

Let’s take a look at some notes from around the league as Week 10 gets underway in full force:

Rich Cimini of ESPN.com does not believe Jets head coach Todd Bowles will be fired at season’s end, but that does not mean that there will be no changes to the coaching staff. Cimini writes that offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, for instance, will almost certainly be on the hot seat.
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that, prior to signing his mega-deal this past offseason, Jets DE Muhammad Wilkerson sat down with Bowles to discuss his past disciplinary issues. During that meeting, Wilkerson vowed to behave and assured Bowles that he understood the responsibility that comes along with such a lucrative contract, which makes last week’s letdown all the more disturbing (Twitter links). Wilkerson’s 2016 numbers are already down, and a floundering Jets team cannot afford for him to be a disappointment both on and off the field.
Bryce Petty will be getting the start for the Jets today, largely because Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s knee is not quite game-ready. However, Fitzpatrick is serving as Petty’s backup today, while Christian Hackenberg is inactive. That decision shows just how raw Hackenberg really is; as Brian Costello of the New York Post tweets, it is clear that the Jets view an injured Fitzpatrick as a better option than a healthy Hackenberg.
Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports that, when the Patriots acquired tight end Martellus Bennett this offseason, the two sides explored a scenario that would have added a year on to Bennett’s existing contract. However, no agreement was reached, and Bennett will consequently become part of New England’s large free agent class at season’s end.
DeSean Jackson is out this week with a rotator cuff injury, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the Redskins wideout is likely to miss at least next week’s game as well. Rapoport’s source says that Jackson’s prognosis is “not good.”
Earlier today, we examined the quarterback dilemmas of the Jets and Cowboys.

Latest On Jets’ Quarterback Change

October 19th, 2016 at 8:09pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Before Jets head coach Todd Bowles demoted quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to a backup role Wednesday, members of the team’s front office “made it clear” that they wanted Geno Smith to start, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post. Nevertheless, sources told Costello that the decision was ultimately up to Bowles.

Team owner Woody Johnson gave both Bowles and general manager Mike Maccagnan votes of confidence Wednesday. However, the second-year head coach could face job security questions in the coming months if the team’s skid continues under Smith, per Costello, who writes that Fitzpatrick is unlikely to start another game with the Jets. If Smith stumbles, the team could turn to one of its more recent draft picks, 2015 fourth-rounder Bryce Petty or rookie second-rounder Christian Hackenberg, in an effort to find a long-term solution.

Fitzpatrick and Smith are scheduled to become free agents at season’s end. The younger of the two, Smith, just turned 26 last week and – based on both that and his second-round pedigree – might have untapped potential. The fourth-year man has been subpar during his NFL career, though, having completed just 57.9 percent of passes to accompany 27 touchdowns and 36 interceptions in 32 appearances (29 starts).

Picks have also been a problem for the 33-year-old Fitzpatrick, who’s last in the league in INTs (11) and passer rating (63.4) in 2016. In the latest (and perhaps final) start of his Jets career, Fitzpatrick hit on a mere 16 of 31 passes for 174 yards and a pick in the club’s 28-3 road loss to Arizona on Monday. That dropped the Jets to 1-5, a far cry from the 10-6 mark they posted with an effective Fitzpatrick at the helm last season.

Fitzpatrick expressed disappointment in his relegation to the bench Wednesday, telling reporters – including Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday – that “I don’t like it.” At the same time, he understands Bowles’ choice.

“I haven’t played well. I think that’s the bottom line,” admitted Fitzpatrick. “I’ve been around and been at it long enough to know that when you’re 1-5, usually good things aren’t happening, and it’s not all smiles in the building. So I don’t want to say that I expected it, but it’s not shocking to me that they wanted to change things up.”

With Fitzpatrick on the sidelines, the Smith-led Jets will attempt to begin turning their season around Sunday against the Ravens.

Jets Will Stick With Bowles, Maccagnan

October 19th, 2016 at 2:04pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets are off to an awful start this year and there’s no guarantee that things will get better anytime soon. Still, owner Woody Johnson says that he isn’t about to do anything drastic and he tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com that the jobs of coach Todd Bowles and GM Mike Maccagnan aren’t in jeopardy.

“We got ten games to go. I’m very confident with Todd Bowles and Mike,” Johnson said unequivocally. “I think we’ve got an excellent team (of leaders). I really respect Todd, I know he’s doing what he’s going to do. It’s football. He’s a good coach. I have long-term confidence in him and in Mike and in their teams. That’s the way I feel. Onward and outward, we’ve had a tough schedule, it’s no excuse. We’ve been in some games. But Monday night was … we gotta be better than that.”

The Jets, of course, are coming off of an embarrassing Monday night loss to the Cardinals. That loss marked their fourth-straight defeat and a playoff berth seems rather unlikely for this year. The Jets will have to forge ahead without star receiver Eric Decker and Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s struggles have led them to turn back to Geno Smith. Things are bad for Gang Green, but they’re not ready to blow everything up.

Bowles and Maccagnan, who are both highly-regarded in the league, are both in their second season with the Jets.

Extra Points: Jets, Kubiak, Broncos, Las Vegas

October 12th, 2016 at 9:31pm CST by Ben Levine

Some assorted notes from around the league…

Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com sees similarities between this year’s Jets team and the 2007 squad, with Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan playing the roles of Eric Mangini and Mike Tannenbaum. Both squads were tentative about going all-in as they looked towards the future, although Fitzgerald believes that 2007 squad did a better job of evaluating prospects. The big X-factor is quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who the writer compares to 2006 draftee Kellen Clemens.
Fortunately for the Jets, Muhammad Wilkerson is the only player whose “roster status is “relatively firm.” The team is still a “massive rebuilding project,” according to Fitzgerald, and the writer believes the team could ultimately look to deal some of their veteran talent for future assets.
The Broncos are serious about Gary Kubiak‘s recovery. How serious? ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reports (via Twitter) that the team doesn’t want anyone to talk to their head coach about football while he’s recuperating. Meanwhile, Cameron Wolfe of The Denver Post wonders if interim coach Joe DeCamillis could become a “viable” head coach.
On Tuesday, the Nevada State senate approved a bill that would “potentially pave the way for an expanded convention center and an NFL-ready stadium” in Las Vegas, writes Jeff Gillan of News3LV.com. The bill will now head to the general assembly, who could deny the plan to fit a new stadium under the boosted “room tax.”

Todd Bowles On Wilkerson, Contracts, Fitzpatrick

June 18th, 2016 at 11:11am CST by Ben Levine

Things haven’t necessarily gone smoothly for the Jets this offseason. Neither the organization nor incumbent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick are budging in their contract negotiations, and the team may be forced to rely on Geno Smith as their starter.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Wilkerson is still awaiting a long-term deal, and the Pro Bowler recently told The New York Post that he’s “shocked” and “frustrated” by the entire situation.

All the while, coach Todd Bowles has continued to operate as if no turmoil existed. However, the second-year coach addressed some of the Jets’ major offseason storylines earlier this week. Brian Costello of The New York Post passed along some of the notable quotes, which we’ve compiled below…

On his reaction to Wilkerson’s recent comments:

“You can ask any player in the league and they’re going to have the underpaid answer. It’s not a distraction, it’s just part of business. People get frustrated. People vent out. It’s no different than your kids. If you get frustrated, you vent, you vent out and you move on.”

On how he approaches the situation:

“It doesn’t bother me. I was 20-something once too, and I said a lot of things that I said or didn’t want to say. When you’re younger, you say things, but he says things that he means, so obviously he meant them.”

On how the organization plans to handle the Wilkerson issue:

“I’m not going to discuss Mo’s situation here in public. I’ll talk to them and Mo about it. I’m not going to talk to everybody else about it. It’s something that I’ve always done.”

On the Jets’ current quarterback situation and the status of free agent Ryan Fitzpatrick:

“With all due respect, I’m through talking about Fitz. I’m going to worry about the guys I have on the team. I think I’ve expressed and said everything about the quarterback that I’m going to say at this standpoint. Until I get to training camp and see what happens, I’m pretty much done talking about it.”

Extra Points: Eagles, Pace, Cromartie, Jags

May 7th, 2016 at 8:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

According to Connor Barwin, Sam Bradford was caught off guard when the Eagles swapped picks with the Browns to trigger their seminal Carson Wentz selection at No. 2 overall.

Not that it’s a surprise Bradford wasn’t expecting this given his recent actions, but the fourth-year Eagles pass-rusher expects things to cool down for the former No. 1 overall pick and that the presumptive Week 1 starter will return to the team, per Zig Fracassi of Sirius XM Radio (Twitter link).

Signed to a two-year, $35MM deal, Bradford probably represents the Eagles’ best chance of competing right away. He was 7-7 as a starter for last season’s dysfunctional team and completed 65% of his passes, by far a career-high mark. But like 2015 Philadelphia teammate Mark Sanchez, it is a matter of time until the first-round pick takes the reins.

Some speculated the 28-year-old former Heisman Trophy winner will retire a la Carson Palmer and wait for a potential solution to develop, but Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk doesn’t see this drama paying off for Bradford. The former Ram’s prolonged absence will make his learning curve in Doug Pederson‘s offense steeper.

Here’s the latest from around the league as rookie minicamp weekend continues.

Antonio Cromartie and Calvin Pace remain free agents, and Todd Bowles said the “door is not closed” on potentially bringing them back to the Jets, Kimberley Martin of Newsday reports. Pace’s two-year, $5MM deal expired after the 2015 season. The pass-rusher had been a staple on the Rex Ryan-era defenses, having started 16 games from 2008-14. Last season, the now-35-year-old Pace started in 13 games. The Jets cut the 32-year-old Cromartie after just one season. Gang Green, though, remains deadlocked with Ryan Fitzpatrick on a deal that looks to pay the quarterback at least $8MM AAV and as of Saturday possesses $3.2MM in cap space.
The Jaguars moved Brandon Linder to center, Gus Bradley told media (including Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union). An 18-game starter at right guard the past two years, Linder missed 13 games due to a shoulder injury last season. After Stefen Wisniewski opted to sign with the Eagles, Linder will be the Jaguars’ fourth center in four years.
Meanwhile, Jacksonville’s line looks to have two former Cowboys backups, with Mackenzy Bernadeau set to move into the Jags’ starting left guard position, O’Halloran writes. Like Jermey Parnell in 2015, Bernardeau left Dallas and its loaded offensive front and will have a better opportunity to be a first-string presence for a less-accomplished line. The 30-year-old Bernadeau did not sign a high-end deal for his position like Parnell did a year ago, but he brings a similar profile, having played as a key backup with the Cowboys the past two years. Prior to that, the former seventh-round Panthers pick in 2008 started 27 games at guard for the Cowboys in 2012-13. Bernadeau started 19 contests for the pre-Cam Newton Panther teams in 2009-10.

Jets Notes: Fitzpatrick, Wilkerson, Front Office

March 27th, 2016 at 11:07am CST by Ben Levine

The Jets seem to be in the news every offseason, and this year is certainly no exception. The team’s attempting to bring back quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, and they’re also trying to figure out what they should do with defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson, who was slapped with the franchise tag.

ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini compiled several Jets-related notes yesterday, and we’ve gathered some of the more interesting tidbits below…

Count Bills coach (and former Jets coach) Rex Ryan among those who hope Fitzpatrick doesn’t ultimately resign with New York. “I hope he goes somewhere else, I do,” Ryan said. “He’s tougher than hell. What’s lost in it is, he might have played poorly against us — it might have been a bad day (in Week 17) — but I think they won five straight with him and he was lighting it up, probably the most yards in the history of that franchise. We’ll see. Like I said, I hope they lose him.”
There’s little chance that the Jets will “tag-and-trade” Wilkerson. Acquiring teams wouldn’t only have to give up assets to acquire the defensive end, but they’d presumably have to re-sign him to a pricey contract.
While Wilkerson and the Jets attempt to negotiate a long-term deal, some officials wouldn’t be shocked if the Pro Bowler ends up holding out. In fact, some sources guessed Wilkerson could sit out the first several games of next season.
The Jets will certainly be eyeing the quarterback situation in San Francisco, as 49ers signal-caller Colin Kaepernick will see his $11.9MM salary become guaranteed later this week. If the quarterback ends up with the Broncos, the Jets may find themselves with leverage while negotiating with Fitzpatrick.
Coach Todd Bowles claimed that he and general manager Mike Maccagnan have mostly been on the same page this offseason. “We like certain players better than others, but we’re talking eggs and bacon or bacon and sausage,” he said. “We’re not talking big disagreements.”

AFC Rumors: Texans, Jets, Fitzpatrick

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

On Monday, Texans owner Bob McNair said that fates of head coach Bill O’Brien and GM Rick Smith are not tied to the success or failure of new quarterback Brock Osweiler, as Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com tweets. Earlier this month, Osweiler agreed to leave the Broncos for a four-year, $72MM contract with Houston. Osweiler was rated as PFR’s No. 1 free agent quarterback for the 2016 offseason. Overall, we slated Osweiler as the third-best free agent available, behind defensive linemen Olivier Vernon and Malik Jackson.

Here’s more out of the AFC:

Head coach Todd Bowles says the Jets have discussed an internal deadline to get an answer from Ryan Fitzpatrick but “right now, we’re not close to that,” (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports).
The Jets do have contingency plans if Fitzpatrick goes elsewhere, Bowles says. “You better have a Plan A, B, and C,” he said (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com).
Bowles said Geno Smith “matured a lot last year,” adding “he’s one of the options if Fitz doesn’t sign back,” (Twitter link via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com).
When asked about D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Bowles said, “Right now, he’s on our team,” (Twitter link via Cimini). The offensive lineman had an up-and-down year in 2015, so Bowles is understandably non-committal when it comes to him.
Jaguars coach Gus Bradley says the franchise has a five-year plan to construct a team with proper salary-cap management so they can afford their younger players’ second contracts (Twitter link via Mike DiRocco of ESPN.com).
Colts coach Chuck Pagano admitted that there is some concern regarding the team’s depth at wide receiver (Twitter link via Stephen Holder of Indy Star). Right now, T.Y. Hilton, Donte Moncrief, and Phillip Dorsett are the team’s unquestioned top three receivers.

Woody Johnson Talks 2015 Season, Bowles, Revis

January 30th, 2016 at 8:43am CST by Ben Levine

The Jets finished 2015 with 10 wins, making it the organization’s most successful season since 2010. Still, there was some disappointment surrounding the team after they blew a chance to make the playoffs in the season finale.

Owner Woody Johnson still hasn’t gotten over that loss, which was clear in his talk with Seth Walder of the New York Daily News. The whole interview is worth checking out, but we’ve grabbed some of the notable quotes below…

On the team’s season-ending loss to the Bills:

“When you lose a game of football, it’s never pleasant, I can tell you that. It’s a hard thing to live through. I wish we had completed a few more passes, or we could have won that easily.”

“Those things stay for a long time. Kind of indelible ink. But you’ve got to move on. Move forward, and learn from what happened in that game.”

On whether he was satisfied with his team’s 2015 performance:

“I don’t think as an owner you can ever be satisfied until you do win the Super Bowl. We haven’t had one for now, (let’s see) this is Super Bowl 50, that was Super Bowl III, so it’s been a while. Until we get there, we’re going to work as hard as we can.”

On Todd Bowles’ and Mike Maccagnan’s first seasons in New York:

“So far, so good…I like them. This is a refreshing start. The 10 (wins). We were in every game. Rebuilt the way we had to.”

On the offseason addition of Darrelle Revis:

“It’s always great to have somebody, a Hall of Famer-type player like Darrelle. So we’re very happy to have him. Both on the field and off the field, the leadership and the way he plays and just his presence for us.

“He played pretty well last year. He’s 1 or 2 in the league.”

Jets Eyeing Ryan Fitzpatrick Return In 2016?

December 12th, 2015 at 4:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

Despite Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s roundabout way into the Jets’ starting lineup this season, Todd Bowles wants the team to re-sign the veteran quarterback, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.

The first-year Jets coach “definitely” wants the team to bring the 33-year-old Fitzpatrick back for another season, Mehta reports. Fitzpatrick’s in the second season of a two-year, $7.25MM deal he signed with the Texans in 2014.

The Jets acquired him for a seventh-round pick this offseason, but that meager cost became a vital exchange once Geno Smith sustained a career-altering broken jaw before the season.

“You can see it in his play,” Bowles told Mehta. “You can see it in his demeanor, his professionalism. Every day, the way he approaches his job. So, it’s somebody you definitely want around. … We got to work (a potential contract out) after the season.”

Fitzpatrick’s camp hasn’t started extension talks with the Jets yet, Mehta reports.

Playing through injuries and elevating the Jets into playoff contention in December for the first time since 2011, Fitzpatrick’s strung together arguably his best season and is on the verge of establishing new career highs.

The one-time seventh-round pick’s thrown for 22 touchdown passes (his career-best mark is 24, set during both the 2011 and 2012 seasons in Buffalo) and 2,866 yards, the latter total resting just less than 1,000 shy of his 2011 personal best. Vinny Testaverde’s 29 touchdown tosses in 1998 remain the Jets’ single-season record.

Smith, who’s attempted just 42 passes after IK Ememkpali‘s locker-room punch removed him from the starting job he’d held since 2013, remains under contract through the 2016 season.