Jets to start Fitzpatrick in Week 17
New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick will start their final game of the year Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, head coach Todd Bowles announced Tuesday.
It will be the third time the team has turned to Fitzpatrick in what's been a lost year for the 4-11 Jets. The veteran began the year as the starter but threw 13 interceptions in nine games and missed Week 10 with a knee injury. He returned to the lineup in Week 12 but was benched in Week 14 for second-year pro Bryce Petty.
Petty has started the last three games but was placed on IR Monday with a torn labrum.
Bowles had a choice of starting Fitzpatrick or rookie quarterback Christian Hackenberg.
"Putting (Hackerberg) in right now isn't gonna hurt or help him," Bowles said of the second-round draft pick.
Hackenberg will instead be the No. 2 quarterback against the Bills.
Fitzpatrick captained the Jets to the brink of the postseason last year and was rewarded with a one-year contract in the offseason. He's thrown for the second-most interceptions in the NFL this year with 17, however, prompting reports that the Jets won't bring him back in 2017.
If the season were to end today, the Jets would own the No. 6 draft pick and would be in prime position to draft the quarterback of their future. They may do so without first seeing Hackenberg play a down in the NFL.
Wide receiver Brandon Marshall supports the decision not to play the rookie.
"Just because you're having a bad season that doesn't mean you throw a kid out there," he said, according to Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday.