New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles decided to drop Ryan Fitzpatrick from his starting role after Monday night’s defeat by the Colts. Unfortunately, Bowles forget to tell his now-benched quarterback before he announced it to the media.
After the Jets’ embarrassing 41-10 loss, Bowles told reporters that Bryce Petty, who the team took in the fourth round of the 2015 draft, would take over from Fitzpatrick for the remainder of the season.
“We could have won 45-0,” Bowles said. “[Petty] was going to start the last four games. It’s the final quarter of the season, and that’s the time slot we have for him. We can get a good look at him, see if he grows any.”
However, at that stage, Bowles hadn’t told Fitzpatrick. The QB was informed by assistant coaches, but not before he’d admitted to reporters: “I don’t know [what my role is]. I’ll have to ask Todd what he wants me to do.”
The coach acknowledged he could have handled it better. He said on Tuesday: “I’d been meaning to talk to him and I got tied up with a few things. I probably could’ve and he tried to cover for me. Like I said, I had a lot on my mind and got some things off my chest, and it kind of went over the wrong way. I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”
The Jets are 3-9, having lost four in a row. Monday night represented the Jets’ most lopsided defeat under Bowles, and eliminated the team from the postseason for the sixth successive year.
Fitzpatrick entered week 13 with a completion percentage of 57.6, a quarterback rating of 72.3, and 14 interceptions – the second most in the NFL. The Jets went 3-6 in games Fitzpatrick started.
