Bryce Petty Ready To Give Jets Fans Hope, Gets The Start Over Injured Fitzpatrick
The Bryce Petty era has begun.
As reported on Twitter by WFAN’s Chris Moore, Bryce Petty will start for the injured Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Bryce Petty will start for the Jets tomorrow, per reliable source. Congrats to them for admitting succeed or fail, gotta see him.
— Chris Moore (@mooretosay) November 12, 2016
Petty starting gives him a better chance to get comfortable in my opinion. Give him the game and let him ride the roller coaster.
— Chris Moore (@mooretosay) November 12, 2016
WFAN’s @mooretosay was first on Petty start…. Tall order for Petty against terrific Rams front. I think you’ll see flashes of quality play
— Manish Mehta (@MMehtaNYDN) November 13, 2016
The move puts coach Todd Bowles in an interesting position. Immediately following last week’s loss to the Miami Dolphins, Bowles got up to the podium to face reporters and named Fitzpatrick his starter, as reported by Newsday.
Similar though, to when he benched Ryan earlier in the year in favor of backup Geno Smith, Bowles left himself an escape hatch when he uttered the words “if healthy” when discussing the possibility of not starting Fitzpatrick. As confirmed by Adam Schefter, Fitzpatrick was apparently not healthy enough to go and Petty gets the nod instead.
So, Jets are starting QB Bryce Petty today vs Rams, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 13, 2016
Fitzpatrick’s season has been a complete bust when compared to the record breaking numbers he put up last year and Bowles and the Jets had no other option but to start looking ahead to the future. It feels like a lifetime ago that Fitzpatrick was holding out for a long term contract and even longer still when the team was one victory away in Week 17 from making the playoffs.
But instead, Fitzpatrick and the Jets fell to the Buffalo Bills and missed the playoffs. Ryan effectively lost his leverage and suffered further in the offseason when no other team was willing to match his asking price. The Jets negotiated a one-year, $12 million dollar, prove-it-or-lose-it type deal.
With arguably the hardest opening schedule in the NFL this year, the Jets and Fitzpatrick indeed lost it, opening with a disappointing 1-5 record. As mentioned earlier, Fitzpatrick was benched after being embarrassed against the Arizona Cardinals, but got one more shot after Geno Smith went down with injury. After a pair of wins against the Ravens and the Browns, Fitzpatrick was able to rally the Jets to a late lead in the fourth quarter against the Dolphins. However an offsides penalty on the ensuing kickoff enabled the Dolphins to retake the lead and ultimately jump start the Bryce Petty era in New York.
Bryce Petty goes from RG III’s backup to Jets’ latest hope at quarterback https://t.co/pyQbtuyVhJ
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) November 13, 2016
Bryce Petty meanwhile, is ready for it.
“Preparation wise, I’ve been putting myself into that starting role,” Petty told NJ Dot Com. “That hasn’t changed since I’ve been here. That’s what you have to pull from when you get into those positions or scenarios when you come off the bench. I was really excited for it.”
He’s also very aware of his situation. He represents hope for a fan base that hasn’t seen a championship in almost fifty years. Considering he was almost cut after the Jets drafted Christian Hackenberg in the second round also gives him a unique perspective that leaves him unphased.
“Every time, especially in my athletic career, whatever I’ve thought should have happened, or how I wanted it, has never been how it has happened, but it has always been better. From recruiting process, to getting to Baylor, to having to wait three years when I thought I was ready in two, fourth round draft pick… there’s a whole boatload of stuff that when I wanted it to go a certain way, it doesn’t. But then it ends up being so much better.”
[Featured image by Rich Schultz/Getty Images]
