New York Jets: Ryan Fitzpatrick no Guarantee to Fix Roster Hole
By Dan Salem
Its obvious, but no less true. The New York Jets have the biggest roster hole remaining in the AFC East. Is Fitzpatrick a lock to save the team’s hopes for success?
Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL Sports Debate. Two brothers from New York yell, scream, and debate sports.
TODD:
While there was much healthy debate about the biggest roster hole that exists in some of the other divisions around the NFL, I have a feeling we may finally agree on what the biggest hole is around the AFC East, which is our next division up for debate.
Overall, the AFC East is made up of a talented quartet of teams. The New England Patriots may be a step above the other three but no one in the division is a pushover. Last year, Miami, one of the biggest underachievers in the league based on preseason expectations, still finished a respectable-for-last-place 6-10.
The Dolphins enter this year with only one major flaw in an otherwise balanced roster; that being running back. Lamar Miller left in free agency and the team replaced him with no one. Yet it did draft Kenyan Drake in the third round. Just because he doesn’t seem like a back suited for even 15 carries a game doesn’t mean Miami can’t piece together a backfield with him and Jay Ajayi, among others.
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The Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots are in similar spots. Perhaps they need a little help here or there, but there is no gaping hole on their roster. The only gaping hole in the division belongs to the New York Jets at quarterback. Everyone knew this was coming.
The defense remains talented. The rest of the offense is very good, especially at wide receiver. However, the Jets remain far apart on bringing back Ryan Fitzpatrick and thus have no one really in-house to start Week 1 at the quarterback position.
In this slight level of panic, NY reached in the second round of the draft to select Christian Hackenberg. He isn’t really an option to start in 2016 since he isn’t leaving college as a polished passer. That means the job currently belongs to Geno Smith or Bryce Petty.
Even if you think it’s inevitable that the Jets re-sign Fitzpatrick before long, the spot remains far and away the biggest hole in the entire AFC East. Maybe you want to talk me into whatever the second-biggest hole is assuming Fitzpatrick and the Jets agree, or maybe you want to talk yourself into the Bryce Petty era.
DAN:
We agree that the New York Jets currently have the biggest roster hole remaining in the AFC East and perhaps the entire NFL, but the hole itself is certainly temporary. I don’t believe the Jets draft Hackenberg without both loving his growth potential and work ethic, as well as feeling that Petty is behind in his development. Bryce was always a longshot to be an NFL starter. He was a fourth round pick remember. I’m not eliminating the possibility that he’ll one day be able to start, or at least hold down the second string job for the Jets, but that day is at least a year away.
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Hackenberg is also at least a year away from starting in the NFL. Being a second round pick, this was to be expected. The primary reason that Geno Smith led the Jets as a rookie was because Mark Sanchez got injured. Sanchez was the incumbent and had the job initially. Smith likely needed development as well, also being a second round pick, but was not afforded the time. Yet several seasons later, after learning on the sidelines last year from one of the great NFL journeyman, Smith’s abilities are a total wildcard.
Ultimately this is why New York holds the biggest roster hole. Fans assume that if and when Fitzpatrick returns to the team he will be as good as last season. Yet he is a year older and in all likelihood will plateau or take a small step back in performance.
Getting better again and setting career milestones again, this late is his career, seems unlikely. Smith is an even bigger unknown. The Jets kept him because it was a financially responsible decision, but he also has solid years of football left in him. The new coaching staff evaluated Smith and determined he was a good option at quarterback. Why else wouldn’t you cut him and sign any one of the other veterans that floated around in free agency?
New England has question marks at several positions. The Dolphins have a big one at running back, as well as on defense in my opinion. Buffalo is also questionable at quarterback, as well as wide receiver with the recent injury news. But in the end too many unknowns fall upon the Jets’ starting quarterback. The team is built to allow an above average player to succeed.
Statistically both Smith and Fitzpatrick do similar things in terms of turnovers at least, but Ryan makes nearly all the smart decisions. He was a team leader and those intangibles can not be understated.
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This hole will be filled by early July, but for now its too obvious to ignore. We don’t know what we’re getting from the Jets’ quarterback and neither does New York. As a fan I’m not particularly worried about how this transpires. The rest of the team is too good to completely unravel.
As an analyst I’m intrigued by how these current negotiations ultimately determine who stays and who goes from the New York Jets heading forward. Drawing a line in the sand is all well and good, but its impossible not to alienate people in the process.