Ryan Fitzpatrick may well be at the start of his career's second act, and the New York Jets are increasingly becoming the right team for him. He set the team's franchise record for touchdown passes with 31 last season and brought them to within one win of making the playoffs.
He was also the fallback option for Geno Smith and is now emerging as a tremendous placeholder for Bryce Petty. But the Jets are trying not to pay Fitzpatrick, 33, the same salary that other free agent QBs are netting, and that has been the one glaring wedge keeping them apart.
Now, a new report from Brian Costello of the New York Post indicated that the Jets want to sign Fitzpatrick to a contract with incentives built in. Fitzpatrick has "resisted" such a contract, but it is unclear if he disagrees with the base salary or the requirements for the incentives.
Jets head coach Todd Bowles is doing his best to stay out of the negotiations. On one hand, he is trying to build on a successful first season, but on the other, his best chance to do that is with the QB who helped them win 10 games.
"It's a business," Bowles said Tuesday at the NFL's meetings in Florida. "It takes time. It's the end of March, but nobody's doing anything right now. We're not playing, we're not practicing, we're not coaching anything. Everybody has the right to be stubborn."
Meanwhile, the Jets have tried multiple different tactics to get Fitzpatrick to lower his asking price. They brought in Robert Griffin III even though they were not expected to make a serious run at signing him. Griffin's signing with the Browns has also made Josh McCown available via trade and, lo and behold, the Jets immediately emerged as a natural fit.
Fitzpatrick's contract negotiations have also led some to opine that the Jets should consider drafting a quarterback. If Paxton Lynch winds up being drafted early in the first round, they could opt for Connor Cook or Christian Hackenberg in the middle rounds.
"Obviously, we're going to try to sign Fitz back," Bowles said, "but we have plans in place just in case it doesn't happen."
