The New York Jets had one of their best looking offenses in years in 2015. Ryan Fitzpatrick made the most of the weapons New York had on the field as many of players had career-high years. However, the only players guaranteed to return next season are Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker. The Jets have to get to work on re-signing players and adding new ones, so who could be on the field for the team next year?
The first priority for the Jets will be retaining Fitzpatrick. According to general manager Mike Maccagnan via WFAN radio, the Jets hope to get a deal done with the quarterback soon as they have no plans of letting him hit the free agent market. With doubt in Geno Smith and Bryce Petty, Fitzpatrick is the best option for Jets in 2016 and they want to get the contract agreed upon quickly.
"We have time, obviously, before free agency," Maccagnan said, via WFAN radio. "We really would like to get Ryan back in the fold. Todd [Bowles] has said that. Obviously, myself, everybody in the organization feels very strongly about this. It's a good situation for all of us. We just have to go through this process and, hopefully, we can come to an agreement that's fair and everybody is happy with it, and go forward from there."
Fitzpatrick's contract could reach upwards of $10 million to $12 million per season which will be a huge pay raise from what he earned this year. After Fitzpatrick is signed, the running back position will be next as Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell are free agents. In the middle of the season, it seemed like a guarantee that Ivory would return, but his disappearance in the last few weeks have many thinking otherwise. Maccagnan did not help the situation by mentioning that Ray Rice's name has come up. However, ESPN's Rich Cimini believes re-signing Ivory or grabbing someone like Matt Forte or Lamar Miller is favored over bringing in Rice.
"You know, we've talked about [Rice] at various points in time," Maccagnan said. "But I'd probably say that would be one ... I'd have to sit down and talk with Todd [Bowles] and Woody [Johnson], but I don't foresee that at this point in time."
The last thing the Jets could look at is upgrades at the tight end position. The Jets got almost no production out of Jeff Cumberland and Kellen Davis who combined for eight catches this season. Maccagnan told WFAN radio that he is looking at free agency upgrades at the position. Cimini reports that Jimmy Graham will be a target if available along with Benjamin Watson, Dwayne Allen and potentially Andrew Quarless. Adding a successful tight end could be the x-factor to the offense in 2016.
