Jets should move on from Fitzpatrick, start Geno Smith

The New York Jets are playing hardball with Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Now more than two months after he officially hit the open market in March, the veteran quarterback remains an unsigned free agent with no sign of progress toward a new deal.

As much as team officials can say that bringing him back is still a priority, the contract offers put on the table are clearly nowhere near acceptable from the perspective of Fitzpatrick and his representation.

So where do the Jets go from here?

To be fair, there's only so much management can do at this stage in the offseason. The Jets were reportedly sitting with roughly $4 million in salary cap space as of last week, and that figure will only continue shrink when the incoming rookie class is signed.

Fitzpatrick, coming off what was far and away the most productive season of his 11-year NFL career, is thought to be seeking a deal that pays him upwards of $14 million per season.

That monumental gap will be referenced as the sticking point if the two sides fail to reach common ground. But given the apparent lack of urgency to create space earlier in recent weeks, it appears possible that the club isn't all that high on having Fitzpatrick return on anything more than a ridiculously below-market contract.

And perhaps they shouldn't be.

It would be unfair to suggest that Fitzpatrick didn't have a key role in the Jets putting together their best season since 2010. His 31 touchdowns last year set a new franchise record, and his 3,905 passing yards saw him come up just 102 yards short of Joe Namath's mark in that category.

At the same time, it would be equally unreasonable to overlook the highly favorable situation that led to those results in the stat column. Having a strong pair of receivers at his disposal, and working at the helm of Chan Gailey's quarterback-friendly attack, Fitzpatrick was set up for relative success from the jump.

As the Jets weigh their options at the quarterback position heading into 2016, it should become abundantly clear that there is far more value in moving on from the 33-year-old and banking on a similar year from another signal-caller already under contract.

The mere thought of Geno Smith returning to a starting role would understandably raise some eyebrows in the football world, and for good reason. The former second-round pick struggled mightily with turnovers in two seasons under the Rex Ryan regime, and a particularly disappointing 2014 campaign was a leading factor in the club's 4-12 finish.

But let's not forget that Smith was in line to start the 2015 season, with the same much-improved scheme and supporting cast, until a training camp altercation left him with a broken jaw.

In the same way that a journeyman quarterback stepped in to lead the NFL's 10th-ranked offense, Smith has the potential to emerge as a productive starter in New York.

Working within Gailey's spread-scheme puts him in a system similar to the one in which he thrived at West Virginia. The quick reads and emphasis on getting receivers in space will go a long way toward helping him to cut down on poor decisions.

Physically speaking, there's little comparison to be made between the overall arm talent of Smith and Fitzpatrick. Finally getting his shot in the simplified offense would quickly highlight the clear advantage the latter has in that regard.

While he likely still has a long way to go if he's ever going to be lighting up opposing defenses, there's no reason why Smith shouldn't be able to either match or exceed the production Fitzpatrick managed last year.

With a stout defense in place on the opposite side, that may be all New York needs to get back to the playoffs and get in position for a potential Super Bowl run.

A once highly touted prospect, who is still just 25 years old heading into his fourth NFL season, Smith also has the added motivation of maximizing his value ahead of free agency next March.

Save your cash, New York. Start the kid.