Written by Dennis Waszak Jr. at WashingtonTimes.com
Fitz Magic has returned and – voila! – the New York Jets are heading into training camp with their starting quarterback under contract.
Finally.
The Jets and Ryan Fitzpatrick agreed to terms on a one-year deal Wednesday night, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The deal, worth $12 million guaranteed and could increase to $15 million in incentives, ends months of speculation and uncertainty at the team’s most vital position.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team had not yet announced the signing. ESPN and NFL Network first reported terms of the deal.
Fitzpatrick set the franchise record with a career-high 31 touchdown passes last season while helping lead the Jets on a playoff push in Todd Bowles’ first season as coach.
The well-traveled 33-year-old veteran appeared to be a certainty to re-sign in the weeks leading to the start of free agency, but Fitzpatrick and the Jets became locked in a contract stalemate over financial terms.
A deal appeared to be a better possibility two weeks ago, when New York signed defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson to a five-year contract extension. That deal created about $5.7 million in salary cap space, giving the Jets some more room to work out a contract with Fitzpatrick.
With the Jets reporting to camp on Wednesday and their first practice scheduled for Thursday, both sides worked to hash out the long-expected deal.
Bowles and general manager Mike Maccagnan repeatedly said all offseason that they’d like to have Fitzpatrick back, with the coach saying the veteran would enter camp as the team’s starter if he re-signed.
Several players, including wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, also expressed their desire to be reunited with Fitzpatrick.
In March, the Jets made an offer of three years for $24 million, including $12 million guaranteed in the first year, but there were some questions about the guaranteed money in the last two years.
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