The Jets’ drama at quarterback rolled on Wednesday, with free agent Brian Hoyer departing his visit with the team without a contract.
Hoyer is now visiting the Broncos, according to a source. The Jets plan to stay in touch with Hoyer, who spent parts of Tuesday and Wednesday with the team, and may revisit signing him down the road. For now, though, their priority remains re-signing Ryan Fitzpatrick, who spent Tuesday night watching the Game 3 of the Ranger-Penguins playoff series with Jets players Nick Mangold, Bryce Petty, Eric Decker and Zach Sudfeld.
There has been no indication Fitzpatrick and the Jets are any closer to a contract, but the silence coming from both sides may be a sign they are making progress. Fitzpatrick threw a franchise-record 31 touchdowns last year and led the team to a 10-6 record. The Jets have been reluctant to give the 33-year-old the big-money contract he is seeking, though.
The Jets brought in Hoyer this week to explore another option. No one is quite sure whether the interest is real or just a smoke screen to put some pressure on Fitzpatrick. Hoyer is not going to wait around for the Jets, thoughThe 30-year-old, who was cut by the Texans this week, hopes to sign with a new team sooner rather than later to begin immersing him in his new team’s offense.
Another interesting development in the quarterback world Wednesday was the Eagles’ trade up to the No. 2 pick in the draft. There had been rumors and speculation the Jets might try to acquire the second-overall pick from the Browns in order to snatch either Jared Goff or Carson Wentz, the top two quarterbacks in this draft.
Moving from No. 20 to 2, though, is difficult to do and would have cost the Jets a boatloadof draft picks, and maybe star defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson, who is on the trading block.
Now, if the Jets want to draft a quarterback they will have to turn to one of the lower-rated players, who is not projected to start in 2016. Memphis’ Paxton Lynch could be there at 20, though there were reports Wednesday he could be taken in the top 10. Lynch is a project, however, after playing in a simplistic offense in college. The other second-tier quarterbacks are Michigan State’s Connor Cook and Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg, who both come with major question marks.
Hoyer now will visit the Broncos, who have former Jet Mark Sanchez as their starting quarterback after Peyton Manning’s retirement and Brock Osweiler’s departure in free agency to Houston. A few weeks ago it appeared a sure thing Denver would acquire Colin Kaepernick from the 49ers, but those trade talks never developed into an actual deal.
If Hoyer signs with the Broncos, the Jets will have more pressure to get a deal done with Fitzpatrick or seek another alternative either in the draft or through a trade. The Buccaneers are believed to be willing to trade Mike Glennon, who would be an interesting possibility for the Jets. The Brown also may end up cutting Josh McCown, who would interest the Jets as a free agent. Cleveland could hold onto McCown now, though, since it appears they won’t be drafting a quarterback.
Cleveland currently has Robert Griffin III and McCown as their best options at the position.