The rest of the NFL playing along too by not giving a damn if Fitz signs to the Jets or not lol nobody else wants him
Boo hoo , says Fitz and his Agent. Nobody wants me at 16 mil....might as well play a game with Uncle Mac
The deal is done. If not Fitz would have at least visited a few teams just like RG, Hoyer and Kap. On NFL.com a bunch of analysts have us drafting Paxton Lynch.. Smokescreen!! Why? because of "need" but really there is no "need" and we want to put a seed of doubt into teams in front of us and behind us. Let's say Paxton Lynch is there at 20 and a team like Zona or Broncos love the big arm talent, suddenly that pick becomes more valuable because of our "need". We move back and pick up a 3rd + 6th or a team takes Lynch in front of us and pushes up a player we covet. Either way we are keeping our competition guessing at the draft and I love this tactic.
I like your thinking, but there is still IMO a massive need for a QB, a real no shit QB for us. Fitz is a stop gap. So if Lynch is BPA Mac will pull the plug, if he doesn't see it that way then you might have a hell of a good plan for this draft. In any case, the search for our QB of the future must go on. But you are right on, deception is key to a good draft.
Besides us Denver is the only other team that needs a QB. Why would teams bring in Fitzpatrick for a visit?
It definitely feels like a deal has already been worked out. I don't think it's coincidence that he is out celebrating with Decker and Mangold and making all these appearances. It also wouldn't surprise me in the least if a Mo Wilks trade (or deal) is already worked out, they are just waiting for draft day. As much as I doubted Mac early in the off season, he's actually impressing me so far with his diligence. He always seems 1 step ahead. The Forte deal was probably worked out way before Ivory signed with the Jags, same with the Clady trade. If he is able to work a long term Wilkerson deal as well as keep Fitzpatrick, he will be a miracle worker.
He could have visited the Browns, Broncos or 49ers just to up his value... Just seems odd he didn't go no one visit...
There kinda has to be an invite for a player to visit. Cant just show up and say "Im here, lets talk" Niners and Browns have made it pretty clear from the start that they never had interest in Fitz. Denver I think would've signed him if he wasnt asking for what he is asking for. They were ready to hand 15mil a year to Osweiler.
The Broncos inquired about Fitzpatrick that's about it. Those other teams has somebody in place or had other options in mind.
Oddly enough the same teams that have shown interest in Fitzpatrick are the same ones that has shown interest in Hoyer (Jets and Broncos) That's it. If they want to be backups then most of the league would show interest. As far as starting, Fitzpatrick has a starting job waiting for him in NY and he'd have to compete with Sanchez in Denver, Hoyer would have to compete for the job in NY and Denver.
I can't see any team/GM gambling like that. You'd have to have an incredible amount of trust in the player to do that. What if Denver came in late and met Fitz's asking price. The Jets would be in trouble. It's more likely the Jets just aren't budging on the worth of Fitz. If they had a deal in place, they would get it done. You don't take chances like that, especially at the QB position.
The wishful thinking is strong to believe Fitz and the team have a deal ready to be inked. Would love it to happen, Mike Macc would be get all the props in the room for pulling off the movie quietly.
It's a strange situation. The Jets will not pay way above market for Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick hasn't been able to generate a market above what the Jets are willing to pay him. The impasse is all on one side at this point, leading me to believe that Fitzpatrick is as likely to retire as anything else at this point.
It's weird that nothing has gotten done, and I agree with you that Fitz might be mulling retirement. On the other hand, it is also possible that we have a deal in place that is contingent upon trading Mo (and the cap space it would open up), which is contingent on someone being available at some draft spot. The "we got this" talk coming from Marshall and Bowles, Fitz's public appearances, and the lack of chatter over Fitz's contract situation leads me to believe it's more likely a possible draft day Mo trade is delaying a Fitz deal. It's also quite possible that I have no idea what is going on and am just pulling conjecture out of my ass.
In Fitz's case, do you get the feeling that his last game against Buffalo torpedoed his FA opportunities other than the Jets? Teams see the other 15 games and say Fitz is pretty good. They see the last game and say "Same ol Fitz". I just think that if Fitz wins that pressure game, we wouldn't be where we are with this negotiation. Since he didn't.....
That game absolutely affected his value, especially with the Jets. If we made a run in the playoffs, he gets paid as the veteran winner who can give us 3-5 more years of leadership. Now, he's just a mediocre journeyman placeholder. It's tough to quantify but one would think that 4th quarter cost him several million.