The days of Ryan Fitzpatrick and his career in New York are numbered. This day seems to have been looming over the heads of the Jets organization for quite some time now. In just a year Ryan Fitzpatrick has gone from the face of Gang Green to probably one of the least respected players in Jets history. Sure he is a liked guy, but his leadership or lack of makes his credibility less than impressive. Players need a Change. Fans want a change. Meanwhile, whatever promise Fitzpatrick offered fans and the players last season for a change in New York had faded faster than it started.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, a 2004 Harvard graduate, entered the 2005 NFL Draft as the 2004 Ivy League MVP. He was also the first quarterback from Harvard to end his college career with over 1,000 rushing yards. The St. Louis Rams selected Fitzpatrick in the seventh round of the NFL Draft. Ryan spent two years with the Rams. St. Louis traded Him to the Bengals in 2007 for a seventh-round pick in the 2008 draft. Fitzpatrick took over for the injured Carson Palmer. He played the final 13 games of the 2008 season for the Bengals.
Buffalo signed Fitzpatrick in 2009 to a three-year 7.4 million dollar contract. “The Amish Rifle”, as nicknamed by fellow Bills teammates, started 53 out of 55 games for Buffalo, posting a 20-33 record. The Bills later released him at the beginning of the 2012 season.
Fitzpatrick bounced between five teams, from 2005 until 2015, before landing in New York. The jets signed Ryan Fitzpatrick to a one-year contract in 2015. Last season New York had a big turnaround from 2014 thanks to a career year by Fitzpatrick. He Posted career highs in touchdowns and passing yards, looking to be on track for future success. An embarrassing 2014 season ending with a 4-12 record seemed like a blessing in disguise.
On July 27, 2016, Fitzpatrick re-signed with the Jets. He signed a one-year deal with the Jets for a guaranteed 12 million dollars. He will make a base salary of $2,000,000 for the 2016 season.The Jets also gave him a signing bonus of $10,000,000 There were high expectations for the Jets this season since Fitz led the Jets to their first winning season since 2010. These high expectations were never met.
Ryan Fitzpatrick failed to produce this season. Fitzpatrick started all but one of the Jets’ games this season. He has more interceptions (14) than touchdowns (10). He completed 57 percent of his passes. Fitzpatrick holds a 70.7 passer rating, down almost 19 points from last season.
Bryce Petty will start the remaining four games this season. Head coach Todd Bowles made his decision and was sticking with it regardless of Mondays’ outcome. The Jets played poorly though which just justified the inevitable. Indianapolis routed New York by the score of 41-10. The decision to change quarterbacks was simple. It was made because of poor play by Fitzpatrick as the Jets averaged just 14 points during a four-game skid. Meanwhile, whatever promise Fitzpatrick offered last season had long since faded.
The team handled the change of quarterbacks poorly. Fitzpatrick wasn’t notified of his demotion until after last nights’ game against the Colts and reporters delivered the news to the team, not the coaching staff. Fans want Todd Bowles fired because of all the recent events. No matter how you feel about what went down one thing is for sure, Ryan Fitzpatrick is not longer the starting quarterback in New York.