Re-signed Fitzpatrick welcomed back by Jets
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. >> Ryan Fitzpatrick showed up at the New York Jets’ practice facility with just a few minutes to spare.
The quarterback had just agreed to a one-year, $12 million deal Wednesday night, ending a contract stalemate that dragged on for months.
Finally getting the OK from his agent, Fitzpatrick wanted to rejoin his teammates in time for their 7 p.m. team meeting with coach Todd Bowles to kick off training camp.
One problem: His security code to the building no longer worked.
So, he had to text wide receiver Brandon Marshall to borrow his code to get inside the building. Then, Fitzpatrick hurried into the auditorium to the surprise of some Jets players and coaches.
“I might have been 3 seconds late, which is a minute late, I guess,” Fitzpatrick said after the Jets’ first camp practice Thursday, “but I wasn’t technically under contract, so I don’t think they can fine me.”
Fitzpatrick quickly apologized to Bowles for his everso slightly tardy arrival.
“He said, ‘I’m sorry I’m late, Coach,” Bowles said before smiling. “I told him, ‘That’s a $12 million fine.”
Fitzpatrick officially signed his new contract about 10 minutes before practice began. Then, he headed out to the field and was greeted by the theme song to the 1970s sitcom “Welcome Back, Kotter” blaring through the speakers lining the sideline.
Smiles and laughs. Fitz is back, and the Jets have their starting quarterback under center again.
“I always thought this day would come,” Fitzpatrick said. “I just had no idea it would take this long and then when it took so long, I wasn’t sure how long it would exactly take. But I’m glad we got it done for that first team meeting.”
It was just like old times when Fitzpatrick hit Marshall down the left sideline for a long “touchdown” pass that drew some loud cheers from a small group of fans. The quarterback’s bushy beard was nothing new, but his over-coiffed hairdo drew some razzing from his teammates.
“Full beard, mini ‘fro,” wide receiver Eric Decker joked. “It looked like he just got off the golf course.”
Garoppolo ready for new starring role with Patriots
FOXBOROUGH, MASS. >> Jimmy Garoppolo spent the first two years of his NFL career firmly in the background of the Tom Brady Show, a role as the understudy least likely to be used.
If he needed any reminder of that status, he got it Thursday when he was greeted by cheers as he walked onto the field for his third NFL training camp. Only, the applause was directed at the guy he will be replacing for the first month of the season.
“Brady! Brady! Brady!” fans bellowed as Garoppolo and his teammates trotted on the field.
There was a fleeting moment last season when the spot Garoppolo now finds himself in nearly played itself out.
Brady had just launched a legal challenge of a fourgame suspension handed down by the league for what it said was his role in a scheme to illegally deflate footballs used in the 2015 AFC championship game.
Garoppolo arrived at camp prepared to step in as the starter, though that evaporated a week before the regular season when the NFL’s punishment was overturned in court. Brady was allowed to play while his case continued to wind through the courts.
A year later the final gavel sounded on “Deflategate” when a federal court reinstated Brady’s fourgame suspension and the MVP quarterback reluctantly accepted his ban.
It meant that this time Garoppolo walked onto the field knowing that barring a major development over the next month, he will make his first NFL regular-season start when the Patriots open their 2016 schedule at Arizona.
Ravens QB Flacco slinging ball in return from knee injury
OWINGS MILLS, MD. >> Joe Flacco eased back into the pocket, surveyed the field and lofted a pass that zipped 50 yards through the air into the waiting arms of rookie receiver Chris Moore.
The scene, which once might have been taken for granted, was noteworthy because of the brace affixed to the quarterback’s left knee.
Flacco practiced with his Baltimore Ravens teammates Thursday for the first time since he tore his ACL and MCL last November. Not every pass was as impressive as the one to Moore, but hey, he was plenty sharp enough to get through the opening day of training camp.
“I felt great,” Flacco said after the 2 ½-hour session. “I thought I could have thrown the ball a little better, but physically felt good, mentally I felt good.”
Now in his ninth season, Flacco set an NFL record by starting 137 straight games (including playoffs) to start his career. The run ended when he was struck in the knee in the midst of a frantic fourth-quarter drive that produced a 16-13 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Nov. 22.
Surgery followed, and Flacco could only watch as the Ravens stumbled to a 5-11 finish.
Warren Sapp bitten by shark during Florida Keys lobster trip
MARATHON, FLA. >> Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Sapp is OK after being bitten on the arm by a shark while catching lobster off the Florida Keys.
A photo posted by a fishing charter boat’s account on Instagram Wednesday appears to show Sapp’s arm with a deep gash.
Charter captain Jack Carlson tells The Tampa Bay Times (http://bit. ly/2awxnI0 ) Sapp was bit while reaching for a lobster the shark was also going after. He says Sapp is OK, but might need stitches. The captain says someone who saw the fish thought it might have been a nurse shark, about 4 feet long.
Sapp posted a picture of the lobster catch on Twitter Wednesday along with a note, “Shark got a little chuck of Me. We got Dinner!
Vegas stadium backers aim for 2 finalist sites next month
LAS VEGAS >> Developers who want to build a domed stadium for the Oakland Raiders in Las Vegas vowed to zero in on two potential sites within the next month as they face a tight timeline to lock in a real estate deal, government approvals and the NFL’s blessing.
Representatives from Majestic Realty and the Las Vegas Sands casino company told an oversight committee Thursday that they want to get their plan in order by January, when NFL owners who must approve any team relocation by a three-quarters vote are scheduled to meet.
“I think the hardest part will be getting to the finish line on the land,” said Sands President Rob Goldstein. “Please be advised that we’re on it day in and day out.”