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Fitzpatrick is Jets best option at quarterback for 2016

Fitzpatrick signing is key for Jets.

Ryan Fitzpatrick (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Ryan Fitzpatrick (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

 

As the offseason is upon the New York Jets, they will have to make a few personnel moves to get ready for the 2016 season. Mohammad Wilkerson is a free agent this offseason so Mike Maccagnan and his staff will have to decide what his future with the Jets is.

But there is one player that the Jets absolutely have to sign this offseason, and that is Ryan Fitzpatrick. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that a quarterback is the most important position on the roster. And a good quarterback alone can take a team a long way. Fitzpatrick may not be the best quarterback in the league, but he was very good for the Jets this season.

As a matter of fact, he had the second most passing yards in a single season in Jets history with 3,905. Who was first you ask? A guy named Joe Namath, in the 1967 season, when he threw for 4,007 yards.

Fitzpatrick also threw 31 touchdown passes, had a completion percentage of 59.6%, and threw just 15 interceptions. That interception number might seem like a fairly high amount, but keep in mind that a lot of those came in bunches, like three in the final quarter of the season against the Bills. When the Jets went on that five game winning streak towards the end of the year, Fitzpatrick was as good as he had ever been. He was clutch and he was not turning the ball over at all.

Fitzpatrick also has every reason to come back to the Jets. The Jets are not a rebuilding team. They are built to win now. And this is intriguing for Fitzpatrick because he has never been to the playoffs in his career. He also has all of the offensive tools to succeed again next year. Brandon Marshall is returning (who also has never been to the playoffs) and Eric Decker is returning. The only thing that hurts the Jets offense is Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell, who are both free agents. But the passing game should be just as good, if not better because the weapons are still there, and Fitzpatrick will have another year under Chan Gailey who he likes playing under.

I think the Jets would be the dumbest organization in the NFL if they did not sign Fitzpatrick for the upcoming season. They do not have another quarterback in their system that will be as good as Fitzpatrick was this season. And on top of that, there really aren’t any potential franchise quarterback options in the draft that the Jets can try to get. Even if there was a good option in the draft, the Jets have the 20th pick in the first round, so they will surely be off the board by then.

The short way of saying it is, Fitzpatrick is without a doubt the best option for the 2016 season. The Jets are a “win now” team and Fitzpatrick is ready to be the quarterback that the Jets need. He proved that he is that good this season. And if he is the starter for the 2016 season, that gives Geno Smith and Bryce Petty, two young quarterbacks, another year to sit out and learn the system.

The Jets can make all the roster moves they want this offseason. But if Fitzpatrick is not the quarterback next season, Mike Maccagnan and his staff either have a brilliant idea that no one else knows about, or they did not do their job in the offseason.

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