Jets Meeting With Brian Hoyer Due Diligence, Still Focused On Re-Signing Ryan Fitzpatrick

From what Rich Cimini of ESPN is hearing, re-signing free agent QB Ryan Fitzpatrick remains the Jets’ No. 1 priority at quarterback, even though they’ve scheduled a visit with QB Brian Hoyer.

• Cimini adds that the meeting with Hoyer falls into the same category of due diligence as the Robert Griffin III visit did last month.
• However, Jason La Canfora reports that the Jets interest in Hoyer is “very real” and he would not be surprised if New York made him a contract offer of some sort from them by Wednesday.
• La Canfora adds that if the Jets since Hoyer, it would likely spell the end of Geno Smith’s time in New York.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported on Monday that the Jets and Fitzpatrick are unlikely to have an agreement on a long-term contract in place before the start of the draft, barring a significant breakthrough.

Numerous reports have said that a large gap still remains in terms of Fitzpatrick’s asking price and what the Jets are willing to pay him. A recent report mentioned that the Jets are willing to pay Fitzpatrick around $8 million per year, but this is far off of what a starting quarterback makes in the NFL.

The problem is that the Jets view Fitzpatrick more as an elite backup and would prefer to not commit big money to Fitzpatrick, considering that they don’t view him as a long-term solution.

There’s also the possibility that the Jets could come away from the draft with a quarterback prospect.

Fitzpatrick, 32, played out the final year of his two-year, $7.5 million contract that included $4 million guaranteed and is currently the best quarterback still available in this year’s market.

In 2015, Fitzpatrick threw for 3,905 yards while completing 59.6 percent of his passes to go along with 31 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Pro Football Focus has Fitzpatrick rated as the No. 27 quarterback out of 37 qualifying players.

Hoyer, 30, was in the final year of his two-year, $10.5 million contract and was set to make a base salary of $5.25 million for the 2016 season. However, no trade surfaced for him, which is why the Texans have elected to release him in a move that will free up $4,859,375 in available cap space.

In 2015, Hoyer appeared in 11 games and accumulated 2,606 passing yards, 19 touchdowns, one interception and completed 60.7 percent of his passes. Pro Football Focus rated Hoyer as the No. 31 quarterback out of 38 qualifying players.

We have both quarterbacks featured in our Best Available Free Agents list.