On Monday, Jets coach Todd Bowles said he was hopeful that quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick would be ready to face the Texans this Sunday after having left thumb surgery last Friday to repair the injury he suffered in Week Eight against the Raiders.
It looks like Bowles can spend more time on other concerns. Fitzpatrick said Wednesday, via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, that he will start against the team he played for in 2014.
Fitzpatrick’s comments came on the same day that General Manager Mike Maccagnan talked about Fitzpatrick’s future with the Jets beyond the 2015 season. Fitzpatrick is set to become a free agent and Maccagnan said that he feels the veteran has more to offer.
“He has a lot of good football left in him,” Maccagnan said.
Maccagnan wouldn’t say whether the Jets would prioritize finding a younger option in the 2016 draft, although retaining Fitzpatrick certainly wouldn’t eliminate that possibility. He’d be a viable choice to start while a younger quarterback develops and there’s little reason to think that the Jets are ready to give the job to one of the other quarterbacks on the team -- Geno Smith and Bryce Petty -- control of the offense come next season.