Whether they advertise it or not, the New York Jets will have a quarterback competition entering the 2015 season. As of right now, the team has Geno Smith preparing to enter his third year in the NFL and journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick as their top two quarterbacks likely to start. Barring any additions via the NFL Draft, one of those two players will be under center Week 1 for the Jets and injuries could impact the battle.
According to Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan, Fitzpatrick will not be ready to play until training camp which could hurt his progress with the team. Fitzpatrick suffered a broken leg last year with the Houston Texans that ended his season early and now it will delay his start with the Jets.
"We're projecting [Fitzpatrick] to be back ready to go for training camp," Maccagnan said, via Darryl Slater of NJ.com. "He'll be involved in some of the offseason stuff, OTAs. But again, [we are] taking it into consideration, too, the rehabilitation for his injuries. He may be limited to a certain degree in the OTAs, so I think Geno and Matt [Simms] will definitely get more reps, probably. Ryan will be involved also through the offseason program, but again, somewhat limited because of the rehabilitation from the injury."
Wide receiver Brandon Marshall has already confirmed that he and Smith will begin workouts soon enough to begin gaining chemistry with one another. The third-year pro will have a jump on the veteran in terms of chemistry and knowledge of the new offense. That could easily impact who gets the start for Week 1.
There is still a chance that Marcus Mariota ends up in New York if the team makes the move with the No. 6 draft pick. That is a real possibility given every mock draft hs the Jets taking Mariota. If both Smith and Fitzpatrick struggle in training camp, the rookie could easily get the nod. The Jets are trying to please fans after several down seasons and putting in a rookie gives them room for error.
Meanwhile, the Jets still have some holes to fill on offense. The team has brought in Denarius Moore for a workout. They could look at Pierre Thomas or Stevan Ridley for running back help and then get youth in the draft.
