The New York Jets have steadfastly maintained that retaining Ryan Fitzpatrick is their number one priority. An admission from their general manager, however, could shed some light on their true ambitions.
General manager Mike Maccagnan admitted on Friday that the team had inquired about the No. 1 pick when the Tennessee Titans were shopping it around.
“The short answer is yes,” Maccagnan said Friday, via Seth Walder of the New York Daily News. “The short answer is we inquired.”
If the Jets inquired, it seems almost certain that they had their eye on either Jared Goff or Carson Wentz. Given how their offseason pursuit of Fitzpatrick has gone, that’s a bit eyebrow-raising.
It may not mean much, though. The Jets do want Fitzpatrick back, but they don’t want to pay him. Plus, at this stage of his career, he’s almost certainly not a long-term solution. While they may have looked at grabbing an heir apparent through such a deal, in the New York media market and with the cost of what it would have taken for the Jets to make the trade, that’s a high price to pay for a guy who isn’t going to play right away.
