Ryan Fitzpatrick officially is a free agent. Again.
The contract the veteran quarterback signed last July with the Jets was voided Friday, and therefore makes him eligible to hit the market March 9.
Fitzpatrick, who turned 34 in November, technically signed a two-year contract after a five-month holdout last offseason. But the deal contained language that allowed the Jets to void the deal five days after Super Bowl LI, essentially making it a one-year, $12 million deal. As part of his deal, Fitzpatrick's $10 million signing bonus was spread over two years. As a result, he'll count for $5 million in "dead money" against the salary cap.
The twice-benched quarterback followed up a career year in 2015 (a 10-6 record, 3,905 passing yards, a franchise-record 31 touchdowns) with the worst season of his 12-year career. He threw 12 touchdowns to 17 interceptions, completed 56.6 percent of his passes and was 3-8 as a starter during the Jets' 5-11 season.
He was benched for Geno Smith on Oct. 19 after the Jets got off to a 1-5 start, then regained his job after Smith suffered a torn ACL four days later against the Ravens. Fitzpatrick then was replaced by Bryce Petty at halftime of a Monday night blowout loss to the Colts on Dec. 5. He started the team's season finale Jan. 1 after Petty suffered a shoulder injury a week earlier.
And now Fitzpatrick, who is 46-69-1 as a starter in 12 seasons, is in need of a job once more.
"It was a season I came in with high expectations," Fitzpatrick told reporters on Jan. 1. "I didn't meet my own expectations or anyone else's, probably. But mine are probably higher than everybody else's. So there's some disappointment there. But that's just the way it went."
The Jets were the sixth team for Fitzpatrick, who was a seventh-round pick of the St. Louis Rams in 2005. He seemed to find the perfect home in Florham Park, N.J. Gifted with playmakers such as Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall, Fitzpatrick flourished in Chan Gailey's new-look offense in 2015. Though he entered training camp as Geno Smith's capable backup that season, Fitzpatrick immediately solidified himself as the leader of the franchise after Smith's jaw was broken by then-teammate IK Enemkpali in an August locker room incident. The altercation paved the way for Fitzpatrick to be the outright starter, even after Smith's jaw healed, and the offense clicked down the stretch during a five-game winning streak.
But the Jets' storybook season crashed and burned in Week 17 when Fitzpatrick threw three fourth-quarter interceptions against the Bills in Buffalo to sink the Jets in a win-and-in game with the playoffs on the line.
But that poor performance didn't sour the Jets front office. Instead, head coach Todd Bowles, general manager Mike Maccagnan and owner Woody Johnson all voiced their desire to bring back Fitzpatrick. Unfortunately for the fan base, the contract negotiations dragged on for months as Fitzpatrick and his agent sought as much as $18 million a year while the Jets aimed for a much smaller contract. In the end, both sides got what they essentially wanted _ Fitzpatrick back in green and white _ but the Jets' contract offer always rubbed the quarterback the wrong way.
Rather than accept the team's three-year offer that included more guaranteed money ($15 million) but considerably less in the second and third seasons ($8 million), Fitzpatrick instead signed what amounted to a one-year, $12 million deal.
"How could I look myself in the mirror every morning and say: 'Yeah, I'll try to play good this year and then next year I'll just collect some checks and teach the young guys'? That's not who I am, it's not in my nature," he said July 28, the day after he agreed to return to the team.
But the feel-good vibes didn't last long at 1 Jets Drive.
Instead, Fitzpatrick reverted back to his mediocre ways, the on-field chemistry between Marshall and Fitz faded and the Jets struggled all year behind their anemic offense.
