Instant Analysis: Jets re-sign Ryan Fitzpatrick

Austan Kas Posted On July 28, 2016

After an off-season full of posturing on both sides, the New York Jets and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick came to terms on a one-year deal on the first day of camp.

Finally: Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jets reach agreement on 1-year, $12 million, fully-guaranteed contract, sources tell ESPN.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 27, 2016

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At the end of the day, this was always the expected outcome.

Despite flirting with other teams, most notably the Denver Broncos, Fitzpatrick didn’t really have any other options, which robbed him of most of his leverage in negotiations. His best leverage, as it turns out, may have been the fact that Geno Smith was the Jets’ backup, although I do think Smith is better than what he’s given credit for.

Earlier in the off-season, it was reported the Jets wouldn’t do a one-year, $12 million deal, but either that report is false or they ended up caving. It’s hard to believe any media reports in this entire saga as earlier Wednesday, mere hours before this deal was announced, ESPN’s Ed Werder reported there had been no talks between the two sides.

Fitzpatrick will hit the open market again next spring, and if he follows up his solid 2015 campaign with another good year, he’ll have a shot at a much bigger payday.

As far as we’re concerned, at least from a dynasty perspective, this is good news all around.

Fantasy Impact

Fitzpatrick was QB9 last season, but in our July staff mock drafts, he’s QB31. As an older player, he’s entering his age-34 season, he’s not going to be a highly-coveted signal caller, but for owners who prefer to roster multiple decent quarterbacks and try to stream throughout the season, Fitzpatrick is a great target. I’d assume some of the reason for his low ADP was the fact that he was unsigned, so his stock likely rose somewhat as soon as this deal was announced.

In two-quarterback or superflex leagues, Fitzpatrick is a very valuable player. Surrounded by a pair of quality receivers and one of the best pass-catching backs in the game, he’s a weekly starter in these formats.

Speaking of the Jets’ weapons, this signing cements the values of Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, who were WR32 and WR38, respectively, in our June mocks. Because of their age, both are valued more in redraft formats, but Marshall (WR3 in PPR) and Decker (WR13) were big-time producers last year. There’s not much of a reason to think they can’t have very good seasons in 2016.

Matt Forte has been an incredibly consistent fantasy asset throughout his career. Despite missing three games and seeing Jeremy Langford eat into his workload by the end of the year, Forte was still RB12 in PPR leagues in 2015. How he’ll fit into the Jets’ offense is anyone’s guess, but having Fitzpatrick under center doesn’t hurt his value as a pass-game maven.

Lastly, the Jace Amaro truther bandwagon is getting smaller, but there are still some believers. If Amaro is going to emerge in 2016, it’s probably safe to assume he needs a quality quarterback and a high-volume passing attack, since he doesn’t figure to be, at best, more than the fourth option in the passing game.

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