NY Jets: Team should stay away from Drew Brees

The NY Jets still have some questions marks at quarterback. The New Orleans Saints could begin their rebuilding process and make players such as Drew Brees available to teams for the right price. Should the Jets take a chance on him?

The Jets have an immense amount of impending free agents this off season, one in particular is their current starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. According to Rotoworld.com, Fitzpatrick had the best season of his veteran career throwing for 3,905 yards for 31 touchdowns and a completion percentage of 59.6%. The journeyman also recorded 270 rushing yards for two rushing touchdowns.

Despite Fitzpatrick’s career year, he is a free agent and has done more than enough to earn a starting gig wherever he chooses to sign. Head coach Todd Bowles has gone out to say that he wants his quarterback back and will be their starter if re-signed. I very much believe the Jets will re-sign Fitzpatrick to a contract anywhere between two-three years, but never the less, Fitzpatrick is a “hold down the fort guy.”

At age 33, the odds of Fitzpatrick being the franchise guy long-term are very slim. With that being said, if Fitzpatrick doesn’t re-sign the Jets, they will be in the market for a new quarterback once again. Should they take a chance and make a big trade for a veteran quarterback such as Drew Brees to help groom the youth such as Bryce Petty for the future?

Brees, who will be 37 in January, is a perfect mentor for young quarterbacks of the future. There are of course a few scenarios, and this is only if the Jets do not chose to re-sign Fitzpatrick or he leaves via free agency for another team.

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Trading for Brees and using the Jets’ first-round pick on a quarterback to be a mentor to Petty as Brett Favre was to Aaron Rodgers and what Kurt Warner was to Eli Manning for the first half of his rookie year, could be very valuable in the long run.

A second scenario would be to trade for Brees and have him groom Petty for the 2017 or 2018 season. The veteran quarterback realistically has another year or two left in the tank before retirement.

Brees provides a team with veteran leadership, playoff experience and most importantly, a Super Bowl victory. He’s scheduled to make $19.75 million next season but the Jets would only have to come up with half of that in the event of a deadline trade. However, with every move in the NFL there are pros and cons. The pros with trading for Brees is like I said earlier, he provides leadership, he comes with post season experience and a championship to his name.

The cons are he will be 37 this month and will most likely play in New York for a season or two. In my own opinion, I think Brees is an incredible quarterback who has accomplished tremendous success for not only the Saints, but New Orleans in general after hurricane Katrina. However, I like the idea of re-signing Fitzpatrick more than trading for a 37-year old quarterback whose nearing the final seasons of his career.

Dec 19, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) throws during the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Fitzpatrick who is 33 years old, still has a good four years or more left in his tank and after coming close to securing a spot in the playoffs, you better believe he’s already preparing for next season. Give Fitzpatrick a two or three-year contract and have him start this season and possibly even next season as it gives Petty plenty of time to not only learn under the veteran but time to fully grasp offensive coordinator Chan Gailey’s offense.

I like the direction the Jets are going in under Bowles and general manager Mike Maccagnan. These two are not ones who are looking for a win now team but they’re looking to build a team that will be successful for a long period of time. Trading for Brees gives you that talented, experienced and franchise guy but for only one season, that’s not what Bowles or Maccagnan are looking for.

Re-sign Fitzpatrick, have him groom Petty and once the 2017 or 2018 season comes by, he’ll be ready as a starter. Kind of similar to what happened to Kirk Cousins, he didn’t have anyone to mentor him but he sat around and learned Jay Gruden’s offense and became the starter in his final year of his rookie contract and won the NFC East for the Washington Redskins.

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Let us not forget about what happened when we had Favre, signed a veteran quarterback for one season hoping to win now, won nine games, missed the playoffs and were once again in the market for yet another quarterback. For once if fans think about it, this franchise is looking at long-term options rather than short-term.

I believe the Jets will re-sign Fitzpatrick, not trade for Brees and Petty could be the future quarterback for the franchise within the next two seasons. The Jets should take a chance on grooming Petty for the future of the Jets as if he’s developed the right way, could be exactly what fans have been waiting for in quite some time.

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