Eric Decker: Ryan Fitzpatrick situation could create training camp distraction

Ryan Fitzpatrick and the New York Jets are still locked up in a contract stalemate, and training camp is just around the corner. Eric Decker believes that could become a problem for the team in more ways than one.

For starters, Decker has already gone on record as saying he wants Fitzpatrick back. But if the situation isn’t resolved one way or another before camp begins, Decker worries it will be a distraction.

“I hope something gets worked out, one way or the other, so we cannot have distractions going into training camp,” Decker told Sirius XM NFL Radio on Thursday, as transcribed by Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. “I think for any team to have success, you have to have some kind of direction. And, with training camp, that’s where you get the timing, that’s where where you kind of build the team and build your identity. And if it’s still in question marks and you don’t know what’s going on, you’re going to create some kind of issues that we don’t need to have.”

As of now, Geno Smith is the starting quarterback for the Jets. If you want to know how the fans feel about that, just read this. Some of Smith’s teammates probably feel the same way.

That said, at some point the Jets are going to have to turn the page. It certainly isn’t ideal to start getting into July and August without having a clue of who your starting quarterback will be, and that will be the case in New York as long as Fitzpatrick remains a free agent.