The Extension?

 
 

One Quarterback is a free agent in March, the other in a year. Unlike the Dolphins and Patriots who have their QBs locked up for the near future, the Jets and Bills have decisions to make on their QB future in the next two years.  The big question is, should they do it this year?

 

Fitzmagic

 

The Jets have a decision to make in the next two months in regards to their QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. After a locker room beatdown, Fitzpatrick took over the starting QB job from Geno Smith who wishes he paid IK. By the time Geno recovered it was too late and Fitz took the job and kept it while Geno had to sit on the bench looking like mopey Palpatine.  Fitzpatrick took advantage of a top 5 WR Duo and his bud Chan Gailey as Offensive Coordinator to have his best year ever with 31 TD passes. Now he is a free agent and the question is does the Jets extend him and for how much.

 

Fitzpatrick is no longer in the prime of his career and at his age, there isn’t much left. What Fitz is is a QB who makes a lot of nice throws but also makes some gruesome throws that make you cringe.  With the Jets, this is the best fit for him as Chan does a good job creating an offense for Fitz and the Marshall and Decker duo makes life easier as well. He also can’t win by himself as evident by his performance week 17 against his old team with playoffs on the line. A two or three year extension would probably be the best bet as Fitzpatrick is currently 33 and doesn’t have more than 5 years left. Since he is not in his prime and since he isn’t an elite QB, he won’t be costing the Jets 20 million a year. 10-12 million a year will do it as the market for Fitz won’t be that great.  3 year 36 million with 14 million guaranteed will probably be the best deal as Fitz doesn’t have a whole lot left and without Decker and Marshall, he is not that great. This will allow the Jets to draft another QB who can be groomed to be the franchise guy as Geno is gone after his contract expires this year and Bryce Petty is horrible.

 
 

TyGod

 

The Bills 2015 season was weird their offense was good but their defense is what kept them out of the playoffs. A big surprise on offseason was free agent signing Tyrod Taylor who was exciting for Bills Nation. Rex Ryan wanted Tyrod for years and signed him as soon as free agency started to be his guy. Tyrod was the guy from the start of March and barring forgetting how to throw the football, was going to be the starter this year. Tyrod had an efficient year with 20 TDs and only 6 INTs. He also added five hundred yards rushing and his running ability is what excites everybody.  With the way his contract was set up, Tyrod got escalators  based off playing time and his third year voided if he played over 50% of the snaps. With money on his mind, Tyrod played through a handful of injuries with one keeping him out and the another where he should have been taken out. Now with one year left, the big question is do they extend him now or wait and fear he gets too expensive.

 

GM Doug Whaley already said he hasn’t seen enough but of course, most NFL coaches/executives tell half truths to get the media to be quiet. The Bills are very desperate for Tyrod to be their guy as they have shown no ability to develop (or even try to) a QB they drafted. The Bills might be wise to extend him now before he potentially cost them 20+ million a year next year. However the concern is if Tyrod is fools gold. This year, Tyrod is 0-5 when passing 30+ times and on the last drive with the game on the line, failed time after time. There is also the concern that like Kaepernick, Tyrod is a product of what Greg Roman does.  Roman this year did a good job handling Tyrod as he defined his reads and limited any ability to Tyrod to throw interceptions. Primarily deep shots and short passes, Roman designed it so Tyrod doesn’t have to throw to the middle of the field or intermediate part of the field, where the interceptions usually happen. That and Tyrod’s best attribute being the deep ball led to a big play offense but struggled mightily with 3 and outs due to Tyrod’s unwillingness to use the entire field.

 

What gives me hope for Tyrod is week 17 against the Jets. Against a good defense, Tyrod did what many wanted him to do all year long, use the whole field. Tyrod was going deep, going short, throwing towards the middle and even the intermediate passing game. What the result was Sammy Watkins demolishing Revis and hope for Bills fans that Tyrod can develop into a complete QB. Now in regards to the extension, I would not give him a 4-5 year extension instead maybe a one or two year. Preferably would be a one year extension to make it three years like his original contract was.  I would also make it 15-18 million dollars but put a nice signing bonus on it so the cap hit can be spread out over the next two years. I don’t think Tyrod is the answer yet, however with his play this year, I am confident he can be and want to give him another two years to find out if he is. If he fails this year, hopefully the Bills are bad enough to draft Kaaya.