New York Jets Quarterback Problem a Non-Issue
By Dan Salem
The New York Jets are without cap space and in need of a quarterback, but this problem is a non-issue. Many players can fill the team’s void at the position, everyone just hopes its Fitzpatrick.
We’re tackling each team in the league, traveling alphabetically to debate their biggest offseason issues. Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL Sports Debate. Two brothers from New York yell, scream, and debate sports.
TODD:
The New York Jets have what amounts to zero cap space still available to work with this offseason. Despite the crunch that existed all March, the team has made a number of moves, while also losing a handful of useful pieces.
Demario Davis out; Bruce Carter in on a one-year deal and Erin Henderson in for $1.5 million a year. Damon Harrison out; Steve McClendon in for $4 million guaranteed. Chris Ivory out; Matt Fore and Bilal Powell in for a combined $15 million guaranteed…
Okay, that last point seems a bit out of whack. Why would a team so strapped for cash spend so much on the running back position when neither player is a game-changer? I like Powell; I used to like Forte; I also like Khiry Robinson, the other back the team added. Just the prices seem too high for their services.
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New York threw $20+ million at running backs but continues to play hardball with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick even though he is left as the team’s only option for a capable starter for 2016.
Perhaps it will all work out and Fitzpatrick will sign for cheap in the coming weeks, but if the Jets’ continual low-balling of Fitzpatrick forces the veteran to another team (say, San Francisco), where do they go then?
They could draft a project quarterback; they could add a questionable veteran. That’s about it. Essentially, they would be throwing away the 2016 season because they wouldn’t have a QB to lead what remains a pretty solid team elsewhere. So why the sneaky tactics? This seems like a gamble with too big a risk and not a large enough possible return. What’s the perfect ending to this? New York signs Fitzpatrick to their low-ball offer and he comes to camp disgruntled and feeling cheated. Congratulations?
DAN:
The way negotiations generally work is that one side asks for more than they expect to receive, the other side offers far less than they plan on paying, and the two parties meet somewhere in the middle at a reasonable price. Fitzpatrick asked for more than he was likely to ever get, despite an excellent season in 2015. He’s at the tail end of his career and just had his best season. Red flag. New York offered what Fitzpatrick was worth before his career year and what his market value remains at. Stalemate.
I loved how Ryan Fitzpatrick led the Jets last season. They are my team and he made us all proud. But I’m smart enough to realize that his performance was a career outlier. Its certainly a risk to “low ball” Fitzpatrick in negotiations, but the bigger risk would have been overpaying a player that has no longterm outlook. Best case scenario, Fitzpatrick plays three more seasons as a starter and another two as a backup. Worst case scenario, he regresses back to the player that got benched in 2014 and bounces around the league for a couple more seasons.
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If I remove my blinders, the ones created by a major resurgence in New York last season, then I’m no longer certain the quarterback is the key to the Jets’ future success. New York was 13th in the league last season throwing the football, with an average of 254 yards per game through the air. Conversely, they were 10th in rushing offense. The Jets also tossed the tenth most picks in the NFL, throwing 16 interceptions on the season. Wasn’t that the knock on Fitzpatrick to begin with, that he throws too many interceptions? I find him to be a great leader and an excellent presence in the locker room. But those intangibles are hard to put a monetary value on. Stats are not.
The Jets paid for running backs first, because the running game is far more valuable to their success. Without one they are doomed. With one they can dominate. The defense is there. The wide receivers are there. Forte and Powell make New York’s rushing attack formidable. The Jets simply need an accurate quarterback who won’t rank in the top ten for interceptions. I’m shaking my head even thinking about it, but Geno Smith can fit that mold. So can several other quarterbacks around the league. But Ryan Fitzpatrick remains the best option, all be it a short term one.
The real question here is whether Bryce Petty is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Are the Jets hiding him on the sidelines, grooming him to take over the team in 2017? People forget that many quarterbacks sat on the bench to begin their careers. Aaron Rodgers comes to mind. Yes, he was behind Brett Favre on the depth chart. But that doesn’t change the fact that he sat in the shadows for quite a long time.
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No matter who quarterbacks the Jets in 2016, its almost a certainty they are not a longterm answer at the position. So many teams consistently overvalue their quarterbacks, overpay them and wonder why things didn’t work out. The Jets are building a winning team, not a one and done squad that almost beats the Patriots in the playoffs. I’m a big picture guy and New York is thinking big. I trust Chan Gailey to get the most out of whomever quarterbacks the Jets in 2016, just as he did with Fitzpatrick last season.