All signs point the to New York Jets missing out on the Marcus Mariota race. According to the New York Daily News, the Jets are not interested in moving up from the No. 6 pick and several teams are currently battling for the No. 2 pick which means Mariota is not falling into the Jets' lap. While head coach Todd Bowles is hopeful to add a quarterback to rotation, for now he will be forced to settle on a battle between Ryan Fitzpatrick and Geno Smith.
In team voluntary workouts, Smith is the leading quarterback as Fitzpatrick continues to heal from a broken leg suffered back in December. The Jets traded for Fitzpatrick fully aware he was still injured, but they do intend for the veteran to battle for the starting job when he gets fully healthy.
"Right now I can't do a whole lot," Fitzpatrick said, via ProFootballTalk.com "I am kind of limited in what I am doing. So, I will slowly start working in and doing different things. So that is a little setback for me right now but my rehab is doing great. I am doing really well, so that is kind of yet to be determined just because for my health and how things are going."
According to Fitzpatrick, he will be healthy come training camp, but in the meantime receivers are getting reps in with Smith as the starter. Both Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker have praised the third-year quarterback as everyone is beginning to realize that it is a very real possibility Smith is the starter in 2015. If the Jets want a rookie in the draft, they will have to wait until a later round and potentially draft Brett Hundley, Bryce Petty or Garrett Grayson who all came in for workouts prior to the draft.
Any idea that the Jets are getting a quarterback with a trade deal involving Muhammad Wilkerson is being shot down. According to ESPN's Rich Cimini, the Jets are not trading Wilkerson despite recent reports as the team continues contract talks with the defensive end. The Jets have been eyeing first-round pass rushers including Vic Beasley and Dante Fowler. ESPN's Todd McShay is also linking the team to a wide receiver like Kevin White or DeVante Parker.
The Jets will likely need to build around Smith in the draft as getting a first-round quarterback is out of the question. Trades for both Jameis Winston and Mariota have been shot down. They can either acquire a backup via a trade or sign another veteran to the mix in order to finalize the rotation while getting other stars in the mix to help elevate the offense in 2015.
