Jets Mailbag: Free Agency answers on Fitzpatrick and more

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The ball is in Ryan Fitzpatrick’s court right now.

We open up the Free Agent edition of the Jets mailbag this week to find thousands of queries about Ryan Fitzpatrick. Okay, maybe it’s not that many, but there’s no shortage of Jets fans wondering about the team’s fate at quarterback. We’ll delve into that and much more, including the Jets’ desire to trade Mo Wilkerson, Matt Forte’s role, the chances of landing RG3 and Nick Folk’s future.

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Muhammad Wilkerson.

@The_rock954 With the Jets not re-signing Snacks, is this a sign that they are going to pay Mo Wilkerson a lucrative contract?

Damon Harrison’s departure to the Giants in free agency had everything to do with cold hard cash and little to do with anything else. The Jets made a fair offer and earnest push to bring him back, but they ultimately couldn’t compete with a desperate team with money to burn.

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Wilkerson’s long-term future with the Jets remains as murky as ever. The team would love to lock him up… at their price, but that’s not going to happen (unless they suddenly decide to significantly alter their valuation).

Wilkerson, coming off his first Pro Bowl season, isn’t inclined to lower his demands. Thus, the franchise tag designation for 2016. The Jets are amenable to trading Wilkerson, but haven’t been able to find a team willing to part with an acceptable first-round pick and pay the defensive end the $ 40+ million in guarantees that he wants in a long-term deal.

Wilkerson is providing periodic updates on social media of the rehab from leg surgery to show the rest of the league that he’s ahead of schedule. It’s obviously a strategic ploy to entice offers, but nobody is biting to this point.

@sebrus1 Do you think the Jets are going to sign a quarterback this week? And do the Jets think that Bryce Petty is the future?

The ball is really in Ryan Fitzpatrick’s court right now. The Jets have presented what they believe to be a fair offer. The negotiation phase is over for now. Could it re-open? It would be silly for either side to be so stubborn as to not have a dialogue to get the deal done.

That being said, the organization won’t be held hostage by the situation. Robert Griffin III’s visit to the Jets facility last week was proof positive of that. The Jets inquired about the 49ers’ asking price for Colin Kaepernick as well. Texans backup Brian Hoyer, who drew interest from the Jets last year, is another option.

The brain trust is cautiously optimistic that Petty can develop into a starter or competent backup, but they’re in no rush to speed up his development. He has promise, but remains an unknown in many respects.

@icebergslim913 Why do you keep endorsing Fitz like he the savior. Just move on. Period. We were impressed with RG3, but no deal?

Fitzpatrick did a tremendous job last season. He commands respect from everyone in the locker room. He is a leader in every sense of the word. His on-field production was terrific. Sure, he’s not the long-term answer, but he’s the ideal short-term solution for a veteran team built to win now.

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I understand the team’s reluctance, however, not to pay $ 14-16 million/year. They aren’t willing to significantly alter their financial structure for a 33-year-old quarterback with a see-saw resume. The Jets are currently about $ 1.5 million under the cap as of Tuesday afternoon, so they’ll have to restructure a few days and/or release players to free up more money and sign anyone else of consequence. It would get more complicated if they decided to re-open their talks with Fitzpatrick and dole out more loot.

It’s a cut-throat business… and the Jets have concluded that their valuation of Fitzpatrick is fair and accurate.

They also firmly believe that he has no other place to go that will offer a guaranteed starting job with a quality supporting cast. Any suggestion that the Jets are low-balling him due to his three-interception performance against the Bills in the season finale is pure fiction. The rationale behind their offer extends far beyond one bad game. They also believe that the pieces around him (Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker, solid running game) played a significant role in his success last year.

Fitzpatrick’s agent is doing right by him by try to maximize his value, but the truth is that everyone involved knows that the Jets are the only team offering him good enough money and a guaranteed starting gig.

The Jets brought in RG3 to get a sense of whether he would be a good fit. If Fitzpatrick did bolt, a quarterback competition between RG3 and Geno Smith wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. The notion that RG3 would bring a circus atmosphere is misguided. I’m betting that he’d be smart enough not to rock the boat considering how far he’s fallen in recent years. If the Jets sign him, you can bet that they’re convinced of it too.

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Matt Forte.