Ryan Fitzpatrick's strange and surreal six-month vacation finally came to an end Wednesday night when he agreed to a 1-year, $12 million deal with the Jets.
"Oh my gosh… it's been a long six months for sure," Fitzpatrick told the Daily News Thursday morning in his first comments since the end of last season. "The biggest feeling was relief. Just relief to have it over and done with. And then when I was driving in (Wednesday night to the team facility) and walking up to the team meeting, it was like the first day of school. I was just all excited to see everybody and to be back in the building. Because through the entire offseason program, I wasn't allowed to be there. It was such a weird feeling. I was 10 minutes away just sitting at home getting calls and texts every day. After every practice, talking with the guys and not being allowed in the building to participate and compete with them. That made it an awfully long offseason for me. Now I'm ready to get to work."
Fitzpatrick, the team's undisputed leader, closed an odd chapter in his 12-year career by agreeing to terms on a deal after a protracted negotiation filled with drama.
"I thought that it would always get done," Fitzpatrick said. "Unfortunately, we had to go through that long process to get to the end result. But I didn't have any doubts that at some point it would work itself out. … Everybody's trying to get a leg up on the bargaining table with negotiations. I thought for the most part it was good that it stayed behind closed doors. There was obviously that one period where they released some of the numbers on the contract. Then all the numbers came out. There was such a he said-she said back-and-forth going on. I didn't really love that part of it. Like I said, I'm ready to go and get to work and put it all behind us. And I'm glad that it's over."
So, how long was Fitzpatrick prepared to sit out?
"That might be a better question for my wife," he said with a laugh. "She was giving me the evil eye every day. … The two words that Mike Maccagnan has used are fair and reasonable. I wanted something that was fair and reasonable. I think this worked out for both parties."
Fitzpatrick became the unlikely centerpiece for the team after being thrust into the starting role in the wake of Geno Smith's locker room altercation with a teammate landed him with a broken jaw. Fitzpatrick's magical season that included 3,905 yards and a franchise-record 31 touchdowns ended in disappointment in a Week 17 loss in Buffalo that kept the Jets out of the playoffs, leaving some of the Jets faithful wondering whether the veteran quarterback could be trusted if he did come back this season.
Fitzpatrick was emotional after that loss, accepting full responsibility (even though there were plenty of other culprits) for his three-interception performance. He maintained Thursday that that type of performance was an aberration.
"If you look at the five games before that (loss to the Bills), those were all really important games too," Fitzpatrick said. "Unfortunately, football's hard and you're going to have bad games sometimes. But I think that the way that we had it going at the end of last year was pretty good. I ended up not having a good game in the last game, but there are a lot of things that we can build off from last season. I think we have the right guys to do it. We had a great chemistry going at the end of the year. We just got to get some of that back and get moving now."
Fitzpatrick, who will turn 34 in November, believes his best is yet to come.
"I'm getting better as a quarterback," Fitzpatrick said. "A lot of that is an understanding of the game, of myself, of who I'm playing against. So I think there's been a nice upward trend in my career of getting better as I get older…. This is the fifth year that I'm going into the year as a starter. So it's not like I've had a 12-year career where every year I've been the starter. There have been a lot of times when I've been the backup. So there's been a lot of growth in my career. I'm just excited for the opportunity this year, but I think I'm going to continue to get better."
He was never going to retire for myriad reasons. He believes he's ascending. He also didn't want to abandon guys like Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall, who, frankly, did a lot of the negotiating for him with their public support and repeated social media posts. Heck, Marshall posted a picture with Fitzpatrick and his sons a little more than 24 hours before players reported for camp.
"I'll tell you what. This whole process has been so long and hard and something I wouldn't wish upon anybody, but if there's a silver lining in it, at least for me, it's the respect and support that those guys showed for me throughout the process," Fitzpatrick said. "It was huge. That's why you play the game. You play the game for your teammates, who really want to play with and for you. That was big for me…. I felt like I had to get back for those guys. I'm glad that we're going to be able to get to work today."
Fitzpatrick's off-season preparation was unlike anything he has experienced as a professional. So, how did he get ready for this season?
"It wasn't easy," Fitzpatrick said. "I was chasing around my five kids and throwing the ball to my brother, who played tight end in college. It wasn't ideal, but this will be my 12th training camp. So I think I know what I need to do to prepare. I'll definitely have to knock off some rust for the next week or two, because I haven't really been throwing to wide receivers, especially with guys with this speed. But that will all come in the next few weeks. ... I think I'll just be thrown in there. There's probably a little bit of rust that needs to be knocked off, but it is like riding a bike."
Fitzpatrick will be the best quarterback in the AFC East for the first month of the season until Tom Brady returns from his four-game suspension, but the Jets signal caller doesn't believe that the Patriots are necessarily more vulnerable.
"I don't know that that changes much," Fitzpatrick said. "It's not like he's suspended for the playoffs. I think we got to focus more on our ourselves."
That begins in earnest now that the Jets have their leader back.
