Todd Bowles On Wilkerson, Contracts, Fitzpatrick
Things haven’t necessarily gone smoothly for the Jets this offseason. Neither the organization nor incumbent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick are budging in their contract negotiations, and the team may be forced to rely on Geno Smith as their starter.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Wilkerson is still awaiting a long-term deal, and the Pro Bowler recently told The New York Post that he’s “shocked” and “frustrated” by the entire situation.
All the while, coach Todd Bowles has continued to operate as if no turmoil existed. However, the second-year coach addressed some of the Jets’ major offseason storylines earlier this week. Brian Costello of The New York Post passed along some of the notable quotes, which we’ve compiled below…
On his reaction to Wilkerson’s recent comments:
“You can ask any player in the league and they’re going to have the underpaid answer. It’s not a distraction, it’s just part of business. People get frustrated. People vent out. It’s no different than your kids. If you get frustrated, you vent, you vent out and you move on.”
On how he approaches the situation:
“It doesn’t bother me. I was 20-something once too, and I said a lot of things that I said or didn’t want to say. When you’re younger, you say things, but he says things that he means, so obviously he meant them.”
On how the organization plans to handle the Wilkerson issue:
“I’m not going to discuss Mo’s situation here in public. I’ll talk to them and Mo about it. I’m not going to talk to everybody else about it. It’s something that I’ve always done.”
On the Jets’ current quarterback situation and the status of free agent Ryan Fitzpatrick:
“With all due respect, I’m through talking about Fitz. I’m going to worry about the guys I have on the team. I think I’ve expressed and said everything about the quarterback that I’m going to say at this standpoint. Until I get to training camp and see what happens, I’m pretty much done talking about it.”
Extra Points: Eagles, Pace, Cromartie, Jags
According to Connor Barwin, Sam Bradford was caught off guard when the Eagles swapped picks with the Browns to trigger their seminal Carson Wentz selection at No. 2 overall.
Not that it’s a surprise Bradford wasn’t expecting this given his recent actions, but the fourth-year Eagles pass-rusher expects things to cool down for the former No. 1 overall pick and that the presumptive Week 1 starter will return to the team, per Zig Fracassi of Sirius XM Radio (Twitter link).
Signed to a two-year, $35MM deal, Bradford probably represents the Eagles’ best chance of competing right away. He was 7-7 as a starter for last season’s dysfunctional team and completed 65% of his passes, by far a career-high mark. But like 2015 Philadelphia teammate Mark Sanchez, it is a matter of time until the first-round pick takes the reins.
Some speculated the 28-year-old former Heisman Trophy winner will retire a la Carson Palmer and wait for a potential solution to develop, but Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk doesn’t see this drama paying off for Bradford. The former Ram’s prolonged absence will make his learning curve in Doug Pederson‘s offense steeper.
Here’s the latest from around the league as rookie minicamp weekend continues.
- Antonio Cromartie and Calvin Pace remain free agents, and Todd Bowles said the “door is not closed” on potentially bringing them back to the Jets, Kimberley Martin of Newsday reports. Pace’s two-year, $5MM deal expired after the 2015 season. The pass-rusher had been a staple on the Rex Ryan-era defenses, having started 16 games from 2008-14. Last season, the now-35-year-old Pace started in 13 games. The Jets cut the 32-year-old Cromartie after just one season. Gang Green, though, remains deadlocked with Ryan Fitzpatrick on a deal that looks to pay the quarterback at least $8MM AAV and as of Saturday possesses $3.2MM in cap space.
- The Jaguars moved Brandon Linder to center, Gus Bradley told media (including Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union). An 18-game starter at right guard the past two years, Linder missed 13 games due to a shoulder injury last season. After Stefen Wisniewski opted to sign with the Eagles, Linder will be the Jaguars’ fourth center in four years.
- Meanwhile, Jacksonville’s line looks to have two former Cowboys backups, with Mackenzy Bernadeau set to move into the Jags’ starting left guard position, O’Halloran writes. Like Jermey Parnell in 2015, Bernardeau left Dallas and its loaded offensive front and will have a better opportunity to be a first-string presence for a less-accomplished line. The 30-year-old Bernadeau did not sign a high-end deal for his position like Parnell did a year ago, but he brings a similar profile, having played as a key backup with the Cowboys the past two years. Prior to that, the former seventh-round Panthers pick in 2008 started 27 games at guard for the Cowboys in 2012-13. Bernadeau started 19 contests for the pre-Cam Newton Panther teams in 2009-10.
Jets Notes: Fitzpatrick, Wilkerson, Front Office
The Jets seem to be in the news every offseason, and this year is certainly no exception. The team’s attempting to bring back quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, and they’re also trying to figure out what they should do with defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson, who was slapped with the franchise tag.
ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini compiled several Jets-related notes yesterday, and we’ve gathered some of the more interesting tidbits below…
- Count Bills coach (and former Jets coach) Rex Ryan among those who hope Fitzpatrick doesn’t ultimately resign with New York. “I hope he goes somewhere else, I do,” Ryan said. “He’s tougher than hell. What’s lost in it is, he might have played poorly against us — it might have been a bad day (in Week 17) — but I think they won five straight with him and he was lighting it up, probably the most yards in the history of that franchise. We’ll see. Like I said, I hope they lose him.”
- There’s little chance that the Jets will “tag-and-trade” Wilkerson. Acquiring teams wouldn’t only have to give up assets to acquire the defensive end, but they’d presumably have to re-sign him to a pricey contract.
- While Wilkerson and the Jets attempt to negotiate a long-term deal, some officials wouldn’t be shocked if the Pro Bowler ends up holding out. In fact, some sources guessed Wilkerson could sit out the first several games of next season.
- The Jets will certainly be eyeing the quarterback situation in San Francisco, as 49ers signal-caller Colin Kaepernick will see his $11.9MM salary become guaranteed later this week. If the quarterback ends up with the Broncos, the Jets may find themselves with leverage while negotiating with Fitzpatrick.
- Coach Todd Bowles claimed that he and general manager Mike Maccagnan have mostly been on the same page this offseason. “We like certain players better than others, but we’re talking eggs and bacon or bacon and sausage,” he said. “We’re not talking big disagreements.”
AFC Rumors: Texans, Jets, Fitzpatrick
On Monday, Texans owner Bob McNair said that fates of head coach Bill O’Brien and GM Rick Smith are not tied to the success or failure of new quarterback Brock Osweiler, as Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com tweets. Earlier this month, Osweiler agreed to leave the Broncos for a four-year, $72MM contract with Houston. Osweiler was rated as PFR’s No. 1 free agent quarterback for the 2016 offseason. Overall, we slated Osweiler as the third-best free agent available, behind defensive linemen Olivier Vernon and Malik Jackson.
Here’s more out of the AFC:
- Head coach Todd Bowles says the Jets have discussed an internal deadline to get an answer from Ryan Fitzpatrick but “right now, we’re not close to that,” (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports).
- The Jets do have contingency plans if Fitzpatrick goes elsewhere, Bowles says. “You better have a Plan A, B, and C,” he said (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com).
- Bowles said Geno Smith “matured a lot last year,” adding “he’s one of the options if Fitz doesn’t sign back,” (Twitter link via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com).
- When asked about D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Bowles said, “Right now, he’s on our team,” (Twitter link via Cimini). The offensive lineman had an up-and-down year in 2015, so Bowles is understandably non-committal when it comes to him.
- Jaguars coach Gus Bradley says the franchise has a five-year plan to construct a team with proper salary-cap management so they can afford their younger players’ second contracts (Twitter link via Mike DiRocco of ESPN.com).
- Colts coach Chuck Pagano admitted that there is some concern regarding the team’s depth at wide receiver (Twitter link via Stephen Holder of Indy Star). Right now, T.Y. Hilton, Donte Moncrief, and Phillip Dorsett are the team’s unquestioned top three receivers.
Woody Johnson Talks 2015 Season, Bowles, Revis
The Jets finished 2015 with 10 wins, making it the organization’s most successful season since 2010. Still, there was some disappointment surrounding the team after they blew a chance to make the playoffs in the season finale.
Owner Woody Johnson still hasn’t gotten over that loss, which was clear in his talk with Seth Walder of the New York Daily News. The whole interview is worth checking out, but we’ve grabbed some of the notable quotes below…
On the team’s season-ending loss to the Bills:
“When you lose a game of football, it’s never pleasant, I can tell you that. It’s a hard thing to live through. I wish we had completed a few more passes, or we could have won that easily.”
“Those things stay for a long time. Kind of indelible ink. But you’ve got to move on. Move forward, and learn from what happened in that game.”
On whether he was satisfied with his team’s 2015 performance:
“I don’t think as an owner you can ever be satisfied until you do win the Super Bowl. We haven’t had one for now, (let’s see) this is Super Bowl 50, that was Super Bowl III, so it’s been a while. Until we get there, we’re going to work as hard as we can.”
On Todd Bowles’ and Mike Maccagnan’s first seasons in New York:
“So far, so good…I like them. This is a refreshing start. The 10 (wins). We were in every game. Rebuilt the way we had to.”
On the offseason addition of Darrelle Revis:
“It’s always great to have somebody, a Hall of Famer-type player like Darrelle. So we’re very happy to have him. Both on the field and off the field, the leadership and the way he plays and just his presence for us.
“He played pretty well last year. He’s 1 or 2 in the league.”
Jets Eyeing Ryan Fitzpatrick Return In 2016?
Despite Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s roundabout way into the Jets’ starting lineup this season, Todd Bowles wants the team to re-sign the veteran quarterback, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.
The first-year Jets coach “definitely” wants the team to bring the 33-year-old Fitzpatrick back for another season, Mehta reports. Fitzpatrick’s in the second season of a two-year, $7.25MM deal he signed with the Texans in 2014.
The Jets acquired him for a seventh-round pick this offseason, but that meager cost became a vital exchange once Geno Smith sustained a career-altering broken jaw before the season.
“You can see it in his play,” Bowles told Mehta. “You can see it in his demeanor, his professionalism. Every day, the way he approaches his job. So, it’s somebody you definitely want around. … We got to work (a potential contract out) after the season.”
Fitzpatrick’s camp hasn’t started extension talks with the Jets yet, Mehta reports.
Playing through injuries and elevating the Jets into playoff contention in December for the first time since 2011, Fitzpatrick’s strung together arguably his best season and is on the verge of establishing new career highs.
The one-time seventh-round pick’s thrown for 22 touchdown passes (his career-best mark is 24, set during both the 2011 and 2012 seasons in Buffalo) and 2,866 yards, the latter total resting just less than 1,000 shy of his 2011 personal best. Vinny Testaverde’s 29 touchdown tosses in 1998 remain the Jets’ single-season record.
Smith, who’s attempted just 42 passes after IK Ememkpali‘s locker-room punch removed him from the starting job he’d held since 2013, remains under contract through the 2016 season.
AFC East Notes: Fins, Whaley, Bowles
The Dolphins are in the midst of a disappointing season, and although there is still time for the 3-5 club to reverse its fortunes and claw back into the wildcard race, there are some who are already looking ahead to next season. As Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes, the Dolphins can easily create a great deal of cap space in 2016 to address their weaknesses and restock their roster. For instance, Miami will almost assuredly release Greg Jennings, thereby saving $4MM, and it could also cut Jordan Cameron, who has not found his place in the offense and who will count a whopping $9.5MM against the cap next year.
Meanwhile, Ndamukong Suh and Ryan Tannehill have a combined $40.2MM cap hit in 2016, but Jackson notes that the Dolphins could reduce that number to as low as $15.1MM with several relatively simple restructures. Needless to say, such restructurings could hamstring the team in future seasons, but even if the Dolphins choose not to go that route, there are still plenty of opportunities for them to create cap room. Parting ways with Koa Misi and Earl Mitchell, for example, would free up over $6MM of space. The real question, then, is not whether the Dolphins will have the financial wherewithal to improve their fortunes, but whether they can find the right players to do so. Recent history, of course, is against them.
Now let’s take a quick swing around the other clubs in the AFC East:
- We heard several days ago that even if the Bills fall out of the playoff race in 2015, head coach Rex Ryan would still return for 2016, though GM Doug Whaley‘s future in Buffalo would be much more uncertain. But as Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News writes, the club’s 2015 draft class has been crucial to the team’s relative good fortunes this season, and although Skurski does not explicitly say so, it may be that the rookies’ cumulative success could save Whaley’s job.
- Manish Mehta of The New York Daily News believes Todd Bowles was the right hire at the right time for the Jets, but a series of questionable in-game decisions, particularly decisions related to clock management, have cast a black cloud over Bowles’ otherwise promising first season as a head coach. Bowles’ job will not be in jeopardy any time soon, but his ability to learn from his early blunders will ultimately define how successful his tenure with Gang Green will be, and how long it will last.
- When a player signs an extension prior to exploring free agency, he is often said to have left money on the table. However, as Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com writes, the recent case of Patriots RB Dion Lewis runs counter to that narrative. Lewis signed a two-year deal in October that led many writers to praise New England for once again securing a major contributor with a team-friendly contract. But as Reiss says, Lewis’ season-ending ACL tear shows just how fragile one’s career can be, and just how important it is for many players–particularly players who entered the league as late draft choices or undrafted free agents–to get paid as soon as possible.
AFC Notes: Steelers, Browns, Jets, Pats
Some news and notes from around the AFC:
- While Ben Roethlisberger might be healthy enough to play Sunday, he’s set to be inactive and the Steelers will start Landry Jones at quarterback. The decision to keep Roethlisberger off the field for another week was influenced by both a desire to steer him clear of the Chiefs’ pass rush (specifically Justin Houston and Tamba Hali) and Pittsburgh’s need to have him as healthy as possible for a Week 8 showdown with AFC North-leading Cincinnati, according to ESPN’s Ed Werder (via Twitter).
- The Browns’ defense has been a colossal disappointment this season (31st in yards per game, 24th in points), but there is disagreement from within as to why, Bud Shaw of the Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. Some members of the defense have questioned the scheme, while coordinator Jim O’Neil has pointed to a lack of execution on the field. Whatever the problem is, things could get worse Sunday against Rams rookie running back Todd Gurley – who is averaging a stellar 5.7 yards per carry and looks primed to bludgeon Cleveland’s last-ranked ground defense.
- Former Jets head coach Rex Ryan was known for hyping up games against AFC East rival New England during his time in New York. His successor, Todd Bowles, has a calmer outlook as his 4-1 club looks to seize first place in the division from the 5-0 Pats on Sunday. “We’re going to take the same approach we’ve been taking,” Bowles said, according to Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post. “You don’t get up or down for one game because it means you haven’t been playing hard in the first place.”
- The Patriots’ cornerback stable has spent a great deal of time in flux going back to the offseason: Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner and Kyle Arrington – all of whom played key roles last year – are gone, two replacements were cut during the summer, and another (Tarell Brown) landed on season-ending injured reserve earlier this month. Luckily for the Pats, the emergence of Logan Ryan in a starting role opposite No. 1 corner Malcolm Butler has helped their secondary avoid any serious turmoil, writes Mike Petraglia of WEEI.
- The Jets were so hard up for a replacement for injured punter Ryan Quigley that they didn’t even work out Steve Weatherford before signing him Saturday, reports Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).
AFC Notes: Raiders, Pryor, Jets, Texans, Jags
The Raiders brought in running backs Trent Richardson and Roy Helu Jr. to backup Latavius Murray, but Josh Dubow of the Associated Press says it’s been undrafted free agent Michael Dyer who’s been making the biggest case to be the No. 2 back. The Auburn/Louisville product gained 45 yards on 12 carries in last week’s preseason game.
“I feel like I got my confidence up because I was able to get into a rhythm and up to game speed,” Dyer said. “Going from the first game to second game you try to build confidence and get the offense down. By the third game you should be able to have control of the game and play hard and fast.”
Meanwhile, despite the fact that he’s a former first-round pick, Richardson is no guarantee to make the team.
“He’s got to earn it,” coach Jack Del Rio said. “He’s got to be good enough as a backup. We’ve got to see some of the explosiveness that he had when he was a young man playing for the Crimson Tide there. He’s got to have a role on special teams and he’s got to be able to help us win on Sundays. That’s the challenge for him right now.”
Let’s check out some more notes from the AFC…
- Terrelle Pryor‘s quest to switch from quarterback to wideout hasn’t necessarily gone as planned, as the former Ohio State standout has remained sidelined with a sore hamstring. However, Browns coach Mike Pettine told Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com that the injury doesn’t doom Pryor’s chance to make the team. “We know he’s a project. We understand that,” Pettine said. “We’re not expecting him to go out there and light it up and catch 10 balls for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Just continue to get better.”
- Todd Bowles may have some tough decisions to make as he looks to trim his roster, but the Jets coach is confident in what he has. “I have a pretty good idea of what we have with the exception of about three or four guys,” Bowles told Brian Costello of the New York Post. “I have a good idea about everybody else. I understand what we can be, and I know what kind of work we have ahead of us, but I have a good idea of what we have.”
- Bill O’Brien needs to cut the Texans roster from 90 players to 53 players in the next ten days, and the head coach is lamenting the inevitably tough decisions. “It’s a very difficult thing,” he told Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “As a head coach, it’s one of the hardest parts of your job because you’ve got guys here that have really, really worked extremely hard…You want a competitive roster. You want to have tough decisions, but it’s still not an easy thing to do with guys you really care about, you really enjoy being around.”
- Offensive lineman Derek Newton‘s five-year, $26M contract signed with the Texans this past offseason may prove to be a bargain, writes Wilson. “Well, we got him back here for a reason,” said offensive coordinator George Godsey. “He’s been playing some tackle for us. We’ve put him in there at guard with some of the things that we’ve had situationally. We put him over at left tackle and haven’t heard one gripe from him.”
- The Jaguars may not have either Andre Branch or Sen’Derrick Marks for their preseason opener, report Mike DiRocco of ESPN.com and Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union, respectively. Branch suffered a sprained MCL and will be out a “significant” amount of time, per Gus Bradley. The pass-rusher is entering his contract year and already saw a groin injury nullify much of his third campaign. The Jags’ sack leader with 8.5 last year, Marks is still recovering from the torn ACL he sustained in Week 17 of last season. Bradley described his top defensive tackle’s quest to suit up for Week 1 as an uphill battle.
Sam Robinson contributed to this report
Extra Points: Cousins, Jets, Hilton, Watkins
If Dan Quinn was hired by the Jets instead of Todd Bowles, the team likely would have dumped Geno Smith in favor of Kirk Cousins, Manish Mehta of the Daily News hears. Quinn’s plan for Gang Green included adding offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, and his vision didn’t include Smith. Sources say the Washington play-caller wanted to instead trade for Cousins, who showed promise in two years under Shanahan While you ponder that what-if, here’s more from around the NFL..
- After the Colts signed T.Y. Hilton to a $65MM deal, Stephen Holder of the Indy Star wonders if the team will still have enough room to get deals done with its other young stars. The Colts will have to cut a massive check to Pro Bowl quarterback Andrew Luck, who will command far more than $20MM annually. Also, the team is negotiating with left tackle Anthony Castonzo, who is essential as one of Luck’s protectors. By the time the Colts get to the likes of tight ends Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener, it’s fair to wonder if they’ll have enough cash to get deals done.
- Jets guard Oday Aboushi has been suspended without pay for the first game of the season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, Brian Costello of the New York Post tweets. In a statement issued by Aboushi’s reps (via Rand Getlin of NFL.com on Twitter), they explained that the lineman was stopped in his car back in January when cops found a small amount of pot in his car.
- With the Bills and Browns facing off on Monday night, Chris Fedor of The Plain Dealer revisited last year’s Sammy Watkins deal. Cornerback Justin Gilbert, who the Browns took with the No. 8 pick, has been off to a rough start and some are question whether he’ll ever meet his rookie year expectations. Cleveland’s side of the deal will also hinge heavily on the future of offensive lineman Cameron Erving, who the Browns selected with the Bills’ pick this year.