He did nothing wrong
RYAN Fitzpatrick’s weird, wild and wacky 13-year NFL story will add another fun chapter when he faces a familiar foe on Sunday. Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston’s shoulder injury that will shelve him for a few weeks sets up an intriguing matchup: Fitzmagic vs. the Jets.
“It’s very ironic,” Fitzpatrick told the Daily News Monday after getting the nod to make his first start with his new team against his old team. “It encapsulates my career, basically. My first start as a Buccaneer, of course, comes versus the Jets with everything that happened there the last few years. My career has been a never-ending rollercoaster and one that I’ve loved every minute of along the way. So, I’ll definitely enjoy the challenge on Sunday.”
Fitzpatrick was the engine of the Jets’ feelgood 2015 campaign, a veteran journeyman who galvanized a wayward team stung by the loss of its presumed starting quarterback (Geno Smith) after a locker room fight with a teammate. Fitzpatrick’s career-high 3,905 passing yards and 31 touchdowns put the Jets within a whisker of a playoff berth in Todd Bowles’ first season.
“That was really a special year,” Fitzpatrick said. “I hate that it didn’t end up in the playoffs with a chance to make a run, but that’s the way that it ended up. But that year for me — reuniting with Chan (Gailey) and doing what we did on the field and the relationships that I formed with Brandon (Marshall), Eric (Decker), Nick (Mangold) and all the other guys on that team — was special. The thrills of that season with the stretch we went on (in December) was a lot of fun for me.”
Fitzpatrick’s protracted contract stalemate in the offseason set in motion a forgettable 2016 season. The veteran signal caller was benched late in the year before returning after Bryce Petty suffered a shoulder injury.
“I have really good memories,” Fitzpatrick said of his two seasons with the Jets. “Obviously it was a tale of two years. My first year there we surprised a lot of people… In terms of the experiences I had and the experiences my family had living there and the people we met in that organization, I’ve got nothing but great things to say about them."
The 34-year-old Fitzpatrick, who’s playing for his seventh team, will get into signing a receiver. He expects rookies Chad Hansen and ArDarius Stewart to see increased playing time in Kerley's absence.
“I’m comfortable with those guys," Bowles said of Hansen and Stewart, who have played sparingly through the first nine games this season. “It all depends on the game plan and what we’re tying to do, another opportunity with Winston out. He relieved an injured Winston in Sunday’s loss to the Saints.
“It’s a tough thing because I don’t ever want to see anybody get hurt,” Fitzpatrick said. “Coming to Tampa and getting to know Jameis, he works so hard. I’ve really appreciated him and everything he does on a day-to-day basis and the way he goes about his business. I really have a lot of respect for him. I think sitting at 2-6, everybody is disappointed right now in the way the season has gone. That’s just an unfortunate thing that he’s hurt enough to where he can’t keep playing.”
Fitzpatrick’s top weapon, Mike Evans, was suspended by the NFL on Monday for one game for a blindside hit in New Orleans, but plans to appeal, according to NFL Media. So, it’s unclear whether Fitzpatrick will have the game-changing wide receiver at his disposal against the Jets, who snapped a threegame losing streak with a rout over the Bills last Thursday night. Todd Bowles predictably downplayed the reunion.
“Fitz was good when he was here,” Bowles said Monday. “We’re going down to play the Buccaneers, not Fitzpatrick. So we’re going to prepare like a normal week and try to go down and get a win.”
The Jets coach also didn’t put too much stock in having a pulse on his former quarterback’s tendencies.
“It’s a different scheme,” Bowles said. “You’re more playing the scheme than you are the player. He’s familiar with us, as well as we’re familiar with him. But he’s got 52 guys behind him, and we’re a different time and have tweaked some things since he’s been gone. So, it’s a little different for both parties.” itzpatrick, meanwhile, has a new look: He’s hairless. The caveman vibe that became all the rage during the Jets’ 2015 season is gone. He — gasp! — no longer sports a beard. “Man, I didn't think it was going to be a big deal,” Fitzpatrick said. “Now, all of a sudden, I’m on the field, so it’s a deal… Usually once a year or so I decide to cut it off. It had been a little while. I don’t even know if my two-year-old had ever seen me without one. So, I decided to just take it down.”
Will he continue to shave in the runup to this weekend’s game?
“There’s not much hair to shave,” Fitzpatrick said with a laugh. “So, I don’t think so.”
Fbut they’ll definitely get more time."
Bowles said the Jets could also activate one of the three receivers on their practice squad: Jalin Marshall, Jojo Natson and rookie Demore’ea Stringfellow.
After joining the Jets as an undrafted free agent out of Ohio State, Marshall caught 14 passes for 162 yards in 10 games as a rookie last year. He also served as the team’s primary kick and punt returner for a good chunk of the season. Marshall was suspended for the first four games of 2017 for violating the league’s performance enhancing drugs policy and landed on the practice squad after the Jets cut him prior to a Week 6 matchup with the Patriots.