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The calm before the storm. Free agency officially gets underway Wednesday at 4 PM. Many Jets fans are getting nervous about Ryan Fitzpatrick.
The Jets and Fitz are far apart on a deal.
“Ryan Fitzpatrick, Robert Griffin III and Brock Osweiler are the top quarterbacks on the market,” wrote the New York Post.
I don’t agree about Robert Griffin III. That is just hype.
And any GM worth his salt doesn’t make decisions based on hype.
If the Jets lost Fitzpatrick, I’d sign Chase Daniel over Griffin.
Griffin isn’t the athlete you remember at Baylor after myriad knee injuries and other maladies.
Also, he’s not very good at reading defenses.
He’s also an overrated scrambler. His speed (which isn’t the same now as it was in college) is straight-line speed. He’s not like Russell Wilson who makes great cuts in the open field. Griffin is actually not that elusive in the open field.
Also, Griffin isn’t a great leader.
This idea that Griffin is a hot commodity on the open market is overblown, a media creation.
He’s probably going to end up a backup in Dallas, in his home state of Texas.
So forget Griffin to the Jets. That is an awful idea.
As for Osweiler, there is a good chance he’s going to Houston.
Texans owner Robert “Bob” McNair has given the GM and coach an edict to go get a quarterback. He’s tired of messing around at the position.
And Denver General Manager John Elway isn’t going to overpay Osweiler. Elway wants to keep Osweiler, but isn’t going to go bananas with the contract.
Honestly, the year after a Super Bowl win, you are playing with house money. The fan base cuts you a lot of slack.
So if Houston goes crazy with the Osweiler money, Elway will let him walk.
And that is where the Jets’ problem possibly lies, vis-Ă -vis Fitz. As I mentioned yesterday, he’s on Denver’s radar.
The Jets and Fitz are far apart now. Not just on money, but on years.
Ryan is tired of being a vagabond, and moving around every one or two years. He wants a three or four-year contract. The Jets reportedly want a shorter contract.
I still think the Jets are favorites for Fitzpatrick, but agent Jimmy Sexton is going to scare them, through his surrogates in the media, to up the ante.
The Jets clearly need to let Damon Harrison walk to get the Fitzpatrick deal done.
You know where I stand on that – let him walk.
He’s a good player, but has benefited from having an All-Star cast at end, to his left and right.
There are plenty of good 3-4 nose tackles on the street they can get a lot cheaper.
I know some in the media are acting like it’s catastrophic to let Harrison go.
I totally disagree.
The Jets will live to see another day.
But if Fitzpatrick leaves, that could really mess up their plans this year.
March 8, 2016
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