It’s time to give Ryan Fitzpatrick a deadline

The New York Jets would be smart to give a realistic deadline to quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick in order to know once and for all what his final decision is heading into the regular season.

When it comes to Fitzpatrick and his contract negotiations with the New York Jets, it’s been a stalemate to say the least. Fitzpatrick wants to cash in on his breakout season of last year that saw him break the all-time touchdowns record ever by a quarterback of the Jets at 31. The Jets on the other hand realize he’s a bridge quarterback holding down the fort until their young gunslingers are ready to take over under center in a few years.

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Negotiations have gone on for months now and it’s been shocking in the grand scheme of things. No one in their wildest dreams ever thought Fitzpatrick wouldn’t want to come back, given the great situation around him and the camaraderie he built with his fellow teammates.

At the end of the day, it’s all about business, which leads to the point in that the Jets have done their best to prove they’re in a win-now mode to him. They bolstered their pass rush this offseason via free agency and the 2016 NFL Draft as well as added even more potent weapons on offense to make his job even easier.

No other teams via free agency even offered Fitzpatrick a contract as his only suitor remains to be the Jets. Even though they drafted quarterback Christian Hackenberg in the second round of this year’s draft, general manager Mike Maccagnan and even players on the Jets have been very vocal in that they want Fitzpatrick back to lead the charge this upcoming season.

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With training camp around the corner, it’s time the Jets gave a bold deadline to determine one way or other if he’ll be back or not.

It should be a major deadline since they will either have full knowledge that Fitzpatrick will be back under center or at the very least, gives them an opportunity to head in a different direction.

At the current moment, the Jets have Geno Smith, Bryce Petty and Hackenberg on the depth chart.

If Fitzpatrick returns, it’ll give the Jets a sigh of relief that not only will their valued veteran be back but that he’ll continue coaching and training everyone else around him to get better.

If he doesn’t return, it at least gives the Jets closure from everything and enable them to move on from him once and for all. They might resort to Smith who would have a much-improved supporting cast around him for the first time in his young career or even seek out another veteran quarterback via free agency.

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Overall, it’s time to set a date and make sure Fitzpatrick knows what all the pros are on why it’s best he comes back. If he doesn’t return, the Jets need to know now in order to prepare for the most important position on the team and assure the football world that they’ll be more than ready to move on without him.