Puttering around
STATELINE, Nev. — Only the autograph seekers and playing partners provoked conversation from Jets unsigned quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick on the golf course Wednesday during a practice round for the American Century Championship.
Embroiled in a contract stalemate with the Jets throughout the offseason, Fitzpatrick also declined to comment before teeing off in the Harrah’s Celebrity-Amateur Tournament.
“Not right now,” he said before walking to the first tee with his brother and caddie, Shaun Fitzpatrick.
The Jets reportedly have offered the 33-year-old Fitzpatrick a three-year deal worth $24 million, including $15 million guaranteed.
CBS Sports NFL analyst Trent Green and NFL analyst and ex-Jets coach Herm Edwards, however, each said they anticipate the Jets and Fitzpatrick will come to terms.
“It will get solved,” Edwards said. “He will be a Jet. He’s the guy who [almost] took them to the playoffs. That’s their quarterback.
“Geno Smith is going to get a lot of reps, but I think if my team won 10 games with [Fitzpatrick] at the helm last year, then they’ll find a way to get it done.”
Green, who played 15 years under center in the NFL, confided Fitzpatrick is spending most of his idle time playing golf.
“He seemed to be in a really good place mentally,” Green said. “He’s excited about his golf game. He’s had a bit more of an opportunity to play golf than what he had hoped for.”
Green said the two didn’t discuss Fitzpatrick’s contract situation, but Green said he believes the two sides will reach an agreement.
“I think it eventually gets done,” Green said. “I think the team likes him. He likes the team. He likes the guys. He likes the offense.
“I understand the business part of it because I’ve been through it for years, so I know that there has to be a common ground that they eventually meet on.”
Green said he also believes the Jets will want to continue the offensive cohesiveness that was estab- lished last season.
“I covered the Jets quite a few times last year and had a chance to talk to him and the team, and I just know the relationship from an offensive standpoint, that he fits so well in what they are trying to do and has such a good understanding of it.”
With a deal unresolved a week before the opening of training camp, Fitzpatrick wasn’t waiting for a call in his for-rent New Jersey home Wednesday morning. Instead, the 11-year NFL veteran was more than 2,700 miles away, preparing for the 54-hole tournament at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course.
As he prepared for his practice round, Fitzpatrick talked openly on the driving range with Edwards and former Blue Jays’ powerhitter Joe Carter.
“He’s excited to be here, and that’s all we talked about,” Edwards said.
Between the ropes, Fitzpatrick freely signed autographs for young children and teenagers. Before walking onto the third green, Fitzpatrick gave high-fives to some young men wearing his No. 14 Jets jersey, then penned his name on their green and white jerseys.
Even though his play was erratic, he joked with his amateur playing partners and congratulated them on their good shots. When a player in his group pointed to the nearby tree that he hit on the par-3 seventh hole a year ago and said, “Impossible, huh?” Fitzpatrick responded, “Impossible to hit it two years in a row.”
Fitzpatrick was among 83 celebrities from sports, entertainment, politics and the military entered in the tournament that begins Friday.