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Let’s add some context to what these two cats said yesterday. These quotes made a lot of news, and spread like wild fire all over the internet.
Jets star wide receiver Brandon Marshall was at charity event yesterday, and made some news.
New York Post – “Brandon Marshall: Jets don’t need Ryan Fitzpatrick.”
That headline was totally irresponsible.
That isn’t close to what he said.
“Just seeing Bryce (Petty) and Geno (Smith) grow so much the last year is really encouraging, and I’m just proud of those guys,” Marshall said. “We’ll be OK.”
Where did he say, “Jets don’t need Ryan Fitzpatrick?”
It’s almost like the tabloids can do whatever they want, and teams put up with it.
The excuse is, “Hey, that is what the tabloids do.”
Perhaps, but if I’m with the Jets, I’m getting somebody on the phone, and giving them a piece of my mind.
Marshall went on to say about Fitz and his contract, “It’s just business, and every deal is different. Some deals get done in three minutes or five minutes, while some take longer. And this is one of them. So I’m confident they’ll get it done. Ryan is a great teammate and a great leader.”
We all know how Marshall feels about Fitzpatrick. He desperately wants him back, and if Fitz doesn’t come back, Marshall is probably going to be in a bad place.
And then you had Eric Decker saying, “I was a little surprised, to be honest with you (that the Jets drafted quarterback Christian Hackenberg in the second round) but (general manager) Mike (Maccagnan) and his scouts do their research and homework for a reason and they saw something special with him. I guess they wanted him earlier than later.”
Decker is a very smart guy. I can tell you exactly what he’s doing here.
First off, he’s another guy who loves Fitz and wants him back. So this quote was in part his way of supporting Fitz. Not that Hackenberg is going to be ready to start this year, but there is a narrative out there that Christian was picked because of the Fitz contract mess. I don’t think it’s true, but that is popular narrative, and Decker has heard that.
Secondly, Decker is good friends with Bryce Petty, so this quote was also in support of him.
In other words, “wWy did you need another young developmental quarterback, we already have one.”
He was basically saying, “not so fast on this guy – don’t sell Petty short.”
But then after getting his message out essentially supporting Fitzpatrick and Petty, Decker turned the quote around and backed his GM.
The bottom line with both of these quotes, which are all over the internet right now, is both Marshall and Decker want Fitzpatrick back.
End of story.
And honestly, while a lot of Jets fans are very nervous right now, it would be shocking if Fitzpatrick isn’t signed at some point in the next few months.
May 11, 2016
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