Report: Jets Give Fitzpatrick Multiple Offers In Hopes Of Ending Stalemate
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Jets are trying to get something done. It looks like it will be up to Ryan Fitzpatrick to play ball.
With the free agent quarterback's months-long contract impasse threatening to make a mess of this week's start of training camp, the Jets have submitted several offers to Fitzpatrick in the hope of getting him signed in time to join his teammates in Florham Park, New Jersey, the Daily News reported Monday.
Jets rookies and veterans report on Wednesday and workouts begin Thursday.
Though the exact terms of the offers were not immediately known, the Daily News speculated that they would figure to fall somewhere in the neighborhood of the reported three-year, $24 million offer that Fitzpatrick has scoffed at for weeks. However, the Jets may be ready to sweeten the guaranteed money, long figured to be a sticking point in the negotiations, the newspaper added.
Last week it was reported that the Jets and Fitzpatrick had not spoken in some time, news that coincided with reports that said the veteran signal-caller's New Jersey home had gone on the market and that he had cut off his text message conversations with teammate Brandon Marshall.
Despite not having much of a market to use as leverage, Fitzpatrick's actions during the offseason have suggested he's not willing to settle for less than he thinks he's worth, especially considering the deals other free agents like Sam Bradford and Brock Osweiler received. Fitzpatrick would seem to have a point, given the fact that he threw for a career-high 3,905 yards and a franchise-record 31 touchdowns last season in leading the Jets to 10 wins, while Bradford and Osweiler had just a fraction of that type of success, but were paid handsomely.
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However, the Jets likely do not view the 33-year-old Fitzpatrick as their long-term solution, which would explain their initial low-ball, three-year offer. Compounding that perceived logic is the fact that the Jets selected Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg in the second round of the draft and could view him as the franchise quarterback the team has been searching for.
If Fitzpatrick doesn't sign soon, the Jets will begin camp with enigmatic Geno Smith as their starter. Smith, who is now in his fourth NFL season, played in just one game last year after losing his job in the preseason, thanks to a fight in the locker room that left him with a broken jaw.