The New York Jets have all but officially missed out on free agent quarterback Brian Hoyer and now Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota is reportedly scheduled to conduct a private workout for the Tennessee Titans. Now what are their offseason plans?
Adam Caplan of ESPN reported Hoyer will sign with the Texans within the next 24 hours and FOX Sports' Alex Marvez noted Mariota will work out for the Titans, who have the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft and are four spots ahead of the Jets. It was also noted the Jets could make a run at Texans' QB Ryan Fitzpatrick because he worked under Chan Gailey in Buffalo, who is the team's new offensive coordinator.
General manager Mike Maccagnan said New York will be looking at all options regarding the quarterback position, and that began with talking to Josh McCown at the NFL Combine, but he eventually signed with the Cleveland Browns. As for Fitzpatrick, it's unknown at this point if the Texans plan to release him after agreeing with Hoyer and Ryan Mallett, but if they do, the Jets plan to pursue him.
However, this still wouldn't rule out Geno Smith starting for the Jets in 2015.
"We're going to know Geno better when we get a chance to work with him going forward," Maccagnan said earlier in the offseason at the NFL Combine, via the New York Post. "He's obviously in our mix. We're kind of committed to try to make him successful because he's ours. The team has invested a second-round draft pick in him. We're trying to do everything to make him successful. His success will be determined going forward based on a lot of other things - his ability to work with our system, his work ethic, his approach, his aptitude at the end of the day."
Interestingly enough, Smith is accustomed to the Pistol Spread offense that Gailey runs because it is similar to the system he operated under at West Virginia University. Additionally, if the Jets were to sign Fitzpatrick, it wouldn't guarantee the veteran the starting job because Smith beat out Michael Vick last season and was the starter in Week 1.
Smith significantly improved in his second NFL season and finished 2014 on a good note going 2-2 and completing 71-of-109 passes (65.1%) for 1,001 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. He also added 18 rushes for 76 yards. Those two losses came at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings (in overtime) and New England Patriots (one-point loss) while the wins came on the road at Tennessee and Miami.
With the addition of Brandon Marshall and the team's plan to be aggressive in free agency, it's possible Smith gets surrounded with more talent to give him a better opportunity to prove he's worthy of the starting job. Assuming Mariota is out of the mix and Fitzpatrick stays in Houston, Smith could very well be the starter next season.
