Ideally, he can be a better-than-average backup veteran. Desperately, he can be a formidable stop-gate starter.
The New York Jets announced Wednesday they traded for quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, formerly of the Buffalo Bills and most recently the Houston Texans. Gang Green reportedly gave the Texans a conditional late round pick in the transaction.
Fitz's $3.25 million contract is probably bargain given that the Jets avoided having to offer a more financially-competitive deal had he hit the open market.
The 32-year-old veteran journeyman is at the least a very good resource on offense given his experience in Chan Gailey's system, which he ran for three seasons when Gailey coached the Bills. He threw for 10,232 yards and 71 touchdowns in that span.
Fitzpatrick completed 63 percent of his passes last year in Houston, totaling 17 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He joins Geno Smith, who will likely be his main camp competition, and Matt Simms on the roster. With signal-caller the team's most volatile position, there could be another young player and/or a veteran added this spring/summer.
All will be competing to toss passes to recently acquired wideout Brandon Marshall, who thrives catching balls from questionable throwers.
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