According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, the Jets and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick are not expected to reach an agreement on a long-term contract 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.
New York could end up hosting veteran QB Brian Hoyer this week once his release from the Texans becomes official.
Beyond that, there’s still the chance 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.
We have him featured in our Best Available Free Agents list.
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