New York Jets receiver Eric Decker is still working under the impression that Ryan Fitzpatrick will be under center for New York when the regular season starts.
“I believe it’s Fitzpatrick,” Decker said, via NFL.com. “Right now, it’s a business and they’re so far off in dollar amount but Ryan wants to be back, they want Ryan back. Something is going to happen. It might be before training camp, the day or two before, but I believe that he’ll be back on the team come this fall.”
Fitzpatrick remains unsigned, despite throwing a career-high 31 touchdown passes for the 10-6 Jets last season. Decker, who caught 12 of his touchdown passes, recently called Fitzpatrick the “right man” for the Jets job.
“It’s a team that’s ready to win now, and we need someone with a veteran presence at the quarterback position,” Decker said. “My job is to catch the ball, but obviously, I want what’s best for the team — and that relationship I want as well.”
The Jets drafted quarterback Christian Hackenberg in the second round of last month’s draft. Geno Smith and Bryce Petty—two other New York draft picks—also remain on the roster.
However, Hackenberg suffered through some serious up and downs while at Penn State, Smith lost his starting job to Fitzpatrick due to an unfortunate training camp injury last summer and Petty has never played in an NFL game.
Still, ESPN’s Rich Cimini believes the contract dispute between the Jets and Fitzpatrick could drag into July.
“The NFL is a deadline business,” Cimini wrote. “Deals usually don’t get done until the 11th hour, so that’s why it wouldn’t surprise me if this drags into July.”
Decker and the Jets want Fitzpatrick back, and Fitzpatrick wants to play in New York. There’s no rush to action at this point, but important dates on the offseason schedule are approaching. Eventually, one side—the Jets or Fitzpatrick—will have to make concessions to turn the reunion into reality.
