Jets Re-Sign Ryan Fitzpatrick

(photo credit: newsday.com)

The New York Jets and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick have ended their nearly five-month contract dispute. Fitzpatrick has signed a one-year deal worth $12 million, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The contract is fully guaranteed, and the contract includes $3 million in incentives, which could boost the value of the contract to $15 million. According to Schefter, the Jets increased their offer on Wednesday from $8 million, to $12 million, and they gave him until 7 p.m. ET to accept the offer, or else the Jets would’ve moved on from the 33-year-old signal caller.

The situation got bleaker when players were told not to answer any questions about Fitzpatrick. The Jets will have to clear some cap space in order to sign Fitzpatrick. The team has $9.1 million in cap space heading into training camp, which starts this week. Fitzpatrick led the team to a 10-6 record last year, and the team was within one game of making the playoffs, but they lost to the Buffalo Bills in Week 17, which ended their season. He led the Jets to their best offensive season since 1998.

Behind Fitzpatrick, the Jets offense finished 10th in total yards, and 11th in total points. Fitzpatrick threw for a career high 33 touchdowns, and he also threw for 3,905 yards and 15 interceptions. He developed a chemistry with wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, as those two had career-reviving years.

Fitzpatrick has been on six different teams during his career, with his longest tenure coming with the Buffalo Bills. He played with the team from 2009-2012, and he was largely the starting quarterback. He’s also played with the St. Louis Rams, Cincinnati Bengals, Tennessee Titans, and Houston Texans. Fitzpatrick has been plagued by turnovers his entire career, as he’s thrown 116 interceptions in 113 career games. New York was going to have to play Geno Smith or Christian Hackenberg if they didn’t agree to a deal with Fitzpatrick.