2016 NFL Trade Rumors: Negotiations Between NY Jets and Ryan Fitzpatrick Not Moving Forward; Will He End Up with the Broncos?

By Carlo Monzon
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Ryan Fitzpatrick with the Houston Texans. Flickr/Jeffrey Beall

Apparently, Ryan Fitzpatrick is still a free agent as he and the New York Jets have not yet worked out a solution regarding his contract for the coming NFL season. And, despite gaining some leverage, it seems Fitzpatrick's chances of re-signing with the Jets have dwindled.

Aside from the 33-year-old athlete, another quarterback that has been associated with the New York franchise was former Washington Redskins QB Robert Griffin III. But last week, Griffin signed a two-year contract worth $15 million with the Cleveland Browns, officially taking him out of the market.

With a competitor for the QB spot out of the way, Fitzpatrick's people believed that it offered them an advantage to negotiate a favorable deal with the Jets. However, despite having limited choices, it seems the team has not yet moved forward with retaining Fitzpatrick, Inquisitr reported.

This, of course, opens another door for the athlete. He the Jets still continues to delay negotiations with Fitzpatrick, then he could end with another team. Coincidentally, one of those that's currently on the lookout for a starting quarterback is the Denver Broncos.

After winning Super Bowl 50, the champion team lost Peyton Manning and his impressive backup Brock Osweiler. Even though the team already signed Mark Sanchez, he might not be enough to be a starter. The Broncos could then fill this void by bringing in Fitzpatrick, who is a more solid and consistent passer than Sanchez.

If the Broncos does proceed with a deal with Fitzpatrick, then general manager John Elway might have the advantage since it seems the Jets is not too keen on keeping the athlete. In addition, Fitzpatrick is no longer a young player in the NFL which means his value in the league has already gone down.

Aside from the Broncos, another team that would be happy to see Fitzpatrick join another team would be the Buffalo Bills. As noted by head coach Rex Ryan, Fitzpatrick performs strongly with the Jets, which is why he's hoping that the athlete would leave the Bills' rival team.

"I hope he goes somewhere else, I do," Ryan said according to NFL Media. "He's tougher than hell. What's lost in it is, he might have played poorly against us - it might have been a bad day (in week 17) - but I think they won five straight with him and he was lighting it up, probably the most yards in the history of that franchise."

"We'll see," he added. "Like I said, I hope they lose him."