New York Jets: 3 Ways Josh McCown won’t be a Ryan Fitzpatrick repeat
2. Keep the guaranteed money low and add incentives
The craziest part of the Fitzpatrick last minute deal in 2016 was the money. The Jets guaranteed him $12 million for the 2016 season, and the Jets had to split it over two seasons to make it work for their cap. It was an utter disaster.
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First, his play ended up not warranting the money. (Hindsight is 20/20 in that case.) Secondly, it hamstrung the coaching staff, because they really had no choice but to keep him in games, that he clearly didn’t deserve to be in, because of the size of the contract.
This season, the Jets signed McCown to a $6 million guaranteed contract (with a total of $6.5 million). However, there were incentives in place that totaled $7 million, $6.5 million of which fell under the not likely to be earned category. That means they only count against the Jets cap if he earns them.
They can structure a deal the same way to keep him in-house, if they feel neither of the young quarterbacks is ready, yet. He was clearly brought in to be a bridge quarterback, and it make take another season, or part of one, for the Jets to go over that bridge and feel comfortable with one of the young quarterbacks.