The Invincible Thread

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Relieved Ryan Fitzpatrick says he always felt that deal with Jets would get done, details difficult offseason: EXCLUSIVE

Ryan Fitzpatrick's strange and surreal six-month vacation finally came to an end Wednesday night when he agreed to a 1-year, $12 million deal with the Jets.

"Oh my gosh… it's been a long six months for sure," Fitzpatrick told the Daily News Thursday morning in his first comments since the end of last season. "The biggest feeling was relief. Just relief to have it over and done with. And then when I was driving in (Wednesday night to the team facility) and walking up to the team meeting, it was like the first day of school. I was just all excited to see everybody and to be back in the building. Because through the entire offseason program, I wasn't allowed to be there. It was such a weird feeling. I was 10 minutes away just sitting at home getting calls and texts every day. After every practice, talking with the guys and not being allowed in the building to participate and compete with them. That made it an awfully long offseason for me. Now I'm ready to get to work."

Fitzpatrick, the team's undisputed leader, closed an odd chapter in his 12-year career by agreeing to terms on a deal after a protracted negotiation filled with drama.

"I thought that it would always get done," Fitzpatrick said. "Unfortunately, we had to go through that long process to get to the end result. But I didn't have any doubts that at some point it would work itself out. … Everybody's trying to get a leg up on the bargaining table with negotiations. I thought for the most part it was good that it stayed behind closed doors. There was obviously that one period where they released some of the numbers on the contract. Then all the numbers came out. There was such a he said-she said back-and-forth going on. I didn't really love that part of it. Like I said, I'm ready to go and get to work and put it all behind us. And I'm glad that it's over."

So, how long was Fitzpatrick prepared to sit out?

"That might be a better question for my wife," he said with a laugh. "She was giving me the evil eye every day. … The two words that Mike Maccagnan has used are fair and reasonable. I wanted something that was fair and reasonable. I think this worked out for both parties."

Fitzpatrick became the unlikely centerpiece for the team after being thrust into the starting role in the wake of Geno Smith's locker room altercation with a teammate landed him with a broken jaw. Fitzpatrick's magical season that included 3,905 yards and a franchise-record 31 touchdowns ended in disappointment in a Week 17 loss in Buffalo that kept the Jets out of the playoffs, leaving some of the Jets faithful wondering whether the veteran quarterback could be trusted if he did come back this season.

Fitzpatrick was emotional after that loss, accepting full responsibility (even though there were plenty of other culprits) for his three-interception performance. He maintained Thursday that that type of performance was an aberration.

"If you look at the five games before that (loss to the Bills), those were all really important games too," Fitzpatrick said. "Unfortunately, football's hard and you're going to have bad games sometimes. But I think that the way that we had it going at the end of last year was pretty good. I ended up not having a good game in the last game, but there are a lot of things that we can build off from last season. I think we have the right guys to do it. We had a great chemistry going at the end of the year. We just got to get some of that back and get moving now."

Fitzpatrick, who will turn 34 in November, believes his best is yet to come.

"I'm getting better as a quarterback," Fitzpatrick said. "A lot of that is an understanding of the game, of myself, of who I'm playing against. So I think there's been a nice upward trend in my career of getting better as I get older…. This is the fifth year that I'm going into the year as a starter. So it's not like I've had a 12-year career where every year I've been the starter. There have been a lot of times when I've been the backup. So there's been a lot of growth in my career. I'm just excited for the opportunity this year, but I think I'm going to continue to get better."

He was never going to retire for myriad reasons. He believes he's ascending. He also didn't want to abandon guys like Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall, who, frankly, did a lot of the negotiating for him with their public support and repeated social media posts. Heck, Marshall posted a picture with Fitzpatrick and his sons a little more than 24 hours before players reported for camp.

"I'll tell you what. This whole process has been so long and hard and something I wouldn't wish upon anybody, but if there's a silver lining in it, at least for me, it's the respect and support that those guys showed for me throughout the process," Fitzpatrick said. "It was huge. That's why you play the game. You play the game for your teammates, who really want to play with and for you. That was big for me…. I felt like I had to get back for those guys. I'm glad that we're going to be able to get to work today."

Fitzpatrick's off-season preparation was unlike anything he has experienced as a professional. So, how did he get ready for this season?

"It wasn't easy," Fitzpatrick said. "I was chasing around my five kids and throwing the ball to my brother, who played tight end in college. It wasn't ideal, but this will be my 12th training camp. So I think I know what I need to do to prepare. I'll definitely have to knock off some rust for the next week or two, because I haven't really been throwing to wide receivers, especially with guys with this speed. But that will all come in the next few weeks. ... I think I'll just be thrown in there. There's probably a little bit of rust that needs to be knocked off, but it is like riding a bike."

Fitzpatrick will be the best quarterback in the AFC East for the first month of the season until Tom Brady returns from his four-game suspension, but the Jets signal caller doesn't believe that the Patriots are necessarily more vulnerable.

"I don't know that that changes much," Fitzpatrick said. "It's not like he's suspended for the playoffs. I think we got to focus more on our ourselves."

That begins in earnest now that the Jets have their leader back.
 
June 2. Exactly two months ago from today's date.
 
If you exclude QB's still on their rookie contract and those who had season-ending injuries (Luck and Romo), every other QB within 10 TD's of Fitzpatrick final total is worth at least $16M for this upcoming season.

So if you finished with 21 or more TD passes, and you're not on a rookie deal, there's at least a $16 million cap hit attached to your name for 2016. So he's well within his right to throw that out as a first offer.

But you, I, the Jets, and everyone else knows he's not worth $16M average per season at this stage of his career.

The Jets are offering him HALF of that though. That's disrespectful.

He knows he ain't getting $16M. Which is why he's willing to meet in the middle at $12M and bet on himself with a one year contract.

Jets still ain't budging. They're trying to have their cake and eat it too with that very, very, very team-friendly 3 year deal they're currently offering.

Sorry...I'm with Fitz on this one.
 
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June 2. Exactly two months ago from today's date.
 
If you exclude QB's still on their rookie contract and those who had season-ending injuries (Luck and Romo), every other QB within 10 TD's of Fitzpatrick final total is worth at least $16M for this upcoming season.

So if you finished with 21 or more TD passes, and you're not on a rookie deal, there's at least a $16 million cap hit attached to your name for 2016. So he's well within his right to throw that out as a first offer.

But you, I, the Jets, and everyone else knows he's not worth $16M average per season at this stage of his career.

The Jets are offering him HALF of that though. That's disrespectful.

He knows he ain't getting $16M. Which is why he's willing to meet in the middle at $12M and bet on himself with a one year contract.

Jets still ain't budging. They're trying to have their cake and eat it too with that very, very, very team-friendly 3 year deal they're currently offering.

Sorry...I'm with Fitz on this one.
Man's a certified NT sports agent. Shoutouts to Jets cutting the check for mediocrity 
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@HoosierDaddy317
Hahahahaha, all that for nothing. I think 12 mil is too much for that schmuck but it is what it is. Wasn't he trying to get three years, how he end up with a one year deal?
One year $12 million for Fitz

Jets won
Sheiiiiiiiiit...y'all got it twisted. Fitzmagic won out.
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He got the Jets to raise their offer from the $8 million-$9 million average they had been on for months. Fitzpatrick gave a little too, though. The Jets had offered a three-year, $24 million deal with $16 million guaranteed. He gives up $4 million guaranteed and could lose on that bet on himself and not be able to make what the Jets were offering for 2017 and 2018. Fitzpatrick balked at that deal because the final two years called for him to be paid $6 million in each of them after $12 million this year. Fitzpatrick had been willing to take a one-year, $12 million deal, but the Jets were not interested until recently. 
The two sides had no recent talks, according to a source, until Wednesday, when the Jets increased the offer to $12 million for one year. It also includes $3 million in team-based incentives that could push the value to $15 million. 
IMO Fitz was always being more fair than the Jets. We all knew this was gonna be the end result, but I find it kind of silly the team took this long to do the obvious. Meet in the middle and call it a day. THEY caved in and finally took care of their leader.

Now that the business end of it is done...I hope y'all get peak Fitztragic for 16 games, and Geno flourishes with some other team. Sorry @bkmac.
 
nahhhhhh Jets def. won

Fitz wanted a three year deal and he basically accepted what was on the table the entire time
 
Should have used the MJ playing pool gif



Marshall now trying to bet his Porsche that he'll have more yards than Antonio Brown. SMH
 
No shade, but sometimes I don't know if you're posting this stuff passive aggressively because of your dislike for the 'Skins name etc., or if this was genuinely interesting to you...
not really sure how interesting it is... and not really sure how, why and/or when someone would use someone's death and/or funeral to be 'passive aggressive'

dan did a good deed.. even if it is just for PR (which I am not saying is the situation, because I don't know.. the two men could have a relationship for all I know).. but that is a financial burden the man's family wont have to bare

skins name is still racist and it's deplorable that in 2016 that it is still not only being used but defended

pretty simple
 
No shade, but sometimes I don't know if you're posting this stuff passive aggressively because of your dislike for the 'Skins name etc., or if this was genuinely interesting to you...

not really sure how interesting it is... and not really sure how, why and/or when someone would use someone's death and/or funeral to be 'passive aggressive'


dan did a good deed.. even if it is just for PR (which I am not saying is the situation, because I don't know.. the two men could have a relationship for all I know).. but that is a financial burden the man's family wont have to bare


skins name is still racist and it's deplorable that in 2016 that it is still not only being used but defended


pretty simple

Because you are 100% against the name....Chief Zee paraded around in Native American garb, which MANY people find/found offensive. You can look no further than the piece Deadspin wrote on his passing.

I honestly don't know what your intentions were, but from knowing where you stand on the name debate/issue, I saw it as a passive aggressive post not really made out of celebrating Zee's life, but more so to poke at what he wore and what he was representing.

If I'm off base, then my apologies.

And honestly, outside of the Skins fanbase, I don't know why this would be something of importance for you to post other than to start a discussion about something other than Zee. Just my .02

*FWIW, Snyder put 500k into Sean Taylor's daughter's trust fund. It's not going to change the opinion folks have of him, but he has done some good.
 
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nahhhhhh Jets def. won

Fitz wanted a three year deal and he basically accepted what was on the table the entire time
Wut.

One more time. From the NYP:
He got the Jets to raise their offer from the $8 million-$9 million average they had been on for months. Fitzpatrick gave a little too, though. The Jets had offered a three-year, $24 million deal with $16 million guaranteed. He gives up $4 million guaranteed and could lose on that bet on himself and not be able to make what the Jets were offering for 2017 and 2018. Fitzpatrick balked at that deal because the final two years called for him to be paid $6 million in each of them after $12 million this year. Fitzpatrick had been willing to take a one-year, $12 million deal, but the Jets were not interested until recently. 
The two sides had no recent talks, according to a source, until Wednesday, when the Jets increased the offer to $12 million for one year. It also includes $3 million in team-based incentives that could push the value to $15 million. 
Jets always had a weak *** team-friendly three year deal on the table. Also a one year option at $8M, which is half of what Fitz originally asked for.

Since early June or so, Fitz has been willing to meet in the middle and bet on himself for one year at $12M.

Fast forward two months later to now...and he gets...1 year at $12M. 
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With team-based incentives that could push the deal to $15M.

Jets refused to budge from their offer for months until they caved in at the start of training camp. Fitz "won" the negotiations.
 
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Because you are 100% against the name....Chief Zee paraded around in Native American garb, which MANY people find/found offensive. You can look no further than the piece Deadspin wrote on his passing.

I honestly don't know what your intentions were, but from knowing where you stand on the name debate/issue, I saw it as a passive aggressive post not really made out of celebrating Zee's life, but more so to poke at what he wore and what he was representing.

If I'm off base, then my apologies.

And honestly, outside of the Skins fanbase, I don't know why this would be something of importance for you to post other than to start a discussion about something other than Zee. Just my .02

*FWIW, Snyder put 500k into Sean Taylor's daughter's trust fund. It's not going to change the opinion folks have of him, but he has done some good.
you do realize things can be multiple things at once, right?
Because you are 100% against the name....
doesn't mean I wish death on anyone.. or take joy in someone's passing.. there are skins fans in this thread so I posted about his death and the funeral
Chief Zee paraded around in Native American garb, which MANY people find/found offensive.
this is offensive.. I would assume a black man off all people would understand appreciate and empathize with that
You can look no further than the piece Deadspin wrote on his passing.
unless I am unaware, I don't work for deadspin.. wouldn't mind the check though
I honestly don't know what your intentions were, but from knowing where you stand on the name debate/issue, I saw it as a passive aggressive post not really made out of celebrating Zee's life, but more so to poke at what he wore and what he was representing.
so you assumed based on me simply posting something.. without any commentary whatsoever
And honestly, outside of the Skins fanbase, I don't know why this would be something of importance for you to post other than to start a discussion about something other than Zee. Just my .02
i am not exactly going to go into the Washington team thread, now am I.. I'm assuming as an eagles fan, that wouldn't exactly be the place for me
*FWIW, Snyder put 500k into Sean Taylor's daughter's trust fund.
another good deed by dan
 It's not going to change the opinion folks have of him, but he has done some good.
because that doesn't change this:
skins name is still racist and it's deplorable that in 2016 that it is still not only being used but defended
 
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Wut.

One more time. From the NYP:


Jets always had a weak *** team-friendly three year deal on the table. Also a one year option at $8M, which is half of what Fitz originally asked for.

Since early June or so, Fitz has been willing to meet in the middle and bet on himself for one year at $12M.

Fast forward two months later to now...and he gets...1 year at $12M. :lol: With team-based incentives that could push the deal to $15M.

Jets refused to budge from their offer for months until they caved in at the start of training camp. Fitz "won" the negotiations.

I mean no team wanted him so I don't see why he didn't take the 3 year deal if he is betting on himself because at least 2017/2018 are there. Even if he does well this year, not sure how many teams are going to be tossing out big 3 year deals to a 35 year old journeymen QB.
 
Jonathan and Aaron
and Dennis... Terri... Odin... Bo... Charlie Boy...

No one but Aaron Hernandez will ever fully grasp how a millionaire tight end came to gun down a friend three summers ago. But Aaron's older brother, Jonathan, was there from day one, and he witnessed all the little moments, all the poor choices, all the unwise associations that led to murder. That perspective cost Jonathan his way of living—but that's O.K. He understands

by Michael Rosenberg

Rest of Article in Link

*I just read the first few paragraphs, but it looks like a great (but long) read. Jonathan, Aaron Hernandez's brother, used to be DJ. You might recall him being the QB at UConn or coaching at Iowa. He's now a roofer in Texas....

Can't wait to finish this up later...
 
Rest of Article in Link

*I just read the first few paragraphs, but it looks like a great (but long) read. Jonathan, Aaron Hernandez's brother, used to be DJ. You might recall him being the QB at UConn or coaching at Iowa. He's now a roofer in Texas....

Can't wait to finish this up later...

Repped. Thanks for the link. Going to read now.
 
Should have used the MJ playing pool gif
****, you're right.
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Shame on me. I know you love that .gif as much as I do.
I mean no team wanted him so I don't see why he didn't take the 3 year deal if he is betting on himself because at least 2017/2018 are there. Even if he does well this year, not sure how many teams are going to be tossing out big 3 year deals to a 35 year old journeymen QB.
If he does play well, then playing for the following 2 seasons at $6M each year would be damn near criminal. We've seen all these recent deals. Quarterbacks are just paid differently than everyone else. Every offseason there's always a need at that position.

If he sucks, he still got paid starter QB market value for 1 year. He gets his 12-15 M's and moves on to hold a clipboard for someone else.

Fitz threw up on himself in the season finale, but still put up the best single season numbers in Jets history. The team didn't trust Geno and had no cap space to acquire a better QB. I think Denver was the only other team with some interest for Fitz, and that fizzled out pretty fast.

I think Fitz, the Jets, and all other teams knew this was always gonna be the end result. Hopefully he pukes on himself again.
 
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