Jets to stick with Ryan Fitzpatrick even after Geno Smith returns

After a 2-0 start that featured a dominant victory over the Cleveland Browns and a shocking upset on the road against the Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles named Ryan Fitzpatrick his permanent starting quarterback moving forward. “If Geno has a grasp of everything and he looks good and he feels good about it, we’ll go with Geno”.

The Jets’ former starter, Smith is auditioning for the No. 2 job this week, along with rookie Bryce Petty, who backed up Ryan Fitzpatrick in the first two games.

Similar things can be said of offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, who probably has the second-most hard task of any coach on the Jets’ staff. The good news is he’s also been given a fighting chance by his general manager.

To the question of if Smith were ready to play this week, would Fitzpatrick still the starting quarterback, Bowles said, “Yes, Ryan’s the starter”. Through two games this season, Fitzpatrick has thrown for 423 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions for a quarterback rating of 94.3. “He has to read defenses all over again”.

Despite that initial success against the Patriots, Ryan and the Jets never came close to dethroning Bill Belichick and Co.

“We’ve been working hard and we’ve been grinding and as the team comes together, like I said it’s a process to get to where we want to be”, Bowles said Tuesday.

Bowles said later on 98.7 ESPN New York radio that Owusu could miss a couple of weeks.

Fitzpatrick doesn’t need to be the star of the team, and the Jets don’t need him to be something he’s not. “Obviously, I want to be out there as soon as possible, but we’re going to take the proper steps”.

“There was communication”, Fitzpatrick acknowledged today after practice at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center.

Fitzpatrick was 22-of-34 for 244 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on Monday night.

Wide receiver Eric Decker, who was hurt late in Monday night’s 20-7 win over the Jets, underwent an MRI Tuesday that revealed only a PCL injury. It remains unclear, however, if he’ll see any playing time this year. Bowles said he is leery of throwing Smith into the job after a long layoff. The one-sided road win over the Colts was an extremely impressive showing for the Jets’ defense, but Fitzpatrick did steer the team to another big win. Next up is a home game against the Philadelphia Eagles on September 27, followed by a road game against the Miami Dolphins on October 4. Throughout his career, the Harvard graduate plays well during the first half of a season and tends to tail off as the National Football League schedule moves into December.