Now that a messy offseason contract holdout is officially behind him, New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is heading into the 2016 NFL campaign with confidence.
In an interview with Rich Cimini of ESPN, Fitzpatrick expressed his belief that he’s a better player than he was in 2015.
“I’m a better player than I was last year,” Fitzpatrick was quoted as saying. “I feel like I keep progressing. I don’t know what the stats are going to be, but I’m going to be a better player this year than I was last year. I know that.
“I want to be in the playoffs,” Fitzpatrick continued. “We’ll see what happens, but I think we’ve got the right guys to do it. … Our expectations are higher this year. I think we’re a more confident football team.”
The 33-year-old Fitzpatrick led the Jets to a 10-6 record last year, making all 16 starts under center and throwing for 3,905 yards and 31 touchdowns. But they were eliminated from playoff contention in the final week of the regular season, losing out to the Pittsburgh Steelers on a tiebreaker.
After a much-publicized contract stalemate with the Jets this offseason, Fitzpatrick bet on himself by signing a one-year, $12 million deal to return to the team in July. As such, he’ll need every bit of that self-assurance moving forward into the coming season. With his primary pass-catching weapons, Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, returning and Matt Forte and Ryan Clady coming into town to help take some pressure off him, Fitzpatrick has a decent chance to deliver on it in 2016.
H/T ProFootballTalk
