Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan spoke with more than 30 reporters on a conference call this afternoon before heading out to the NFL owners' meetings in Boca Raton, FL, that start on Sunday.
Needless to say, he was asked about Ryan Fitzpatrick, Muhammad Wilkerson, Damon Harrison, Chris Ivory, Matt Forte and several other players who have either come or gone during this free agency period. Here are nine takeaways from Mike's responses with the Green & White media:
1. On his optimism about getting a deal done with Fitzpatrick's representatives...
"I don't really want to get into the status or where we are with different negotiations. Quite simply, Ryan — and we said this before — we feel we have a very good situation for Ryan here, he's a very good fit for us, and our goal eventually is hopefully to get Ryan under contract. ... We don't want to put it in the context of are we close, are we far. We're focused on trying to get the player back and I'd kind of like to leave it at that."
2. On the backup plan that he, head coach Todd Bowles and the team have at QB if Fitzpatrick doesn't sign...
"We do have, like every team does, contingency plans. I don't want to get into who we have necessarily lined up as our contingency plan because at the end of the day, it's more of a competitive thing, we don't want to tell other teams what we're going to do. We did obviously bring Robert Griffin in, really more to do our due diligence with him. ... Our focus primarily is trying to get something worked out with Ryan. But we're just doing our due diligence and seeing what else is out there. It was a good meeting [with Griffin], more of a meet-and-great type situation where we got a chance to interact with him, face to face, if we decide we want to follow that up, we'll pursue it down the road at some point in time."
3. On the possibility of trading DE Muhammad Wilkerson...
"I don't really want to talk about hypotheticals with any players on our roster. ... It's not something we're actively pursuing. At the end of the day, he is under the franchise tag, so I would say we'll see how this thing plays out. ... I will say this, and this is not just with Muhammad. Teams are constantly talking to each other, either shopping their own players or inquiring about others. It's more of the nature of our business a little bit. But in regard to any player on our team, I don't really want to comment on that stuff."
4. On losing Chris Ivory but signing Matt Forté at running back...
"We always felt Chris was going to have a competitive marketplace and we obviously wanted Chris back. ... We looked at the free agent market and we knew Forté was out there. We liked him quite a bit. We know he's a little bit older but he's still a very good back. At the end of the day, the market works itself out. You try to make decisions that help you in the short term and the long term. ...Forté, we obviously felt very strongly about that one."
5. On the Giants' signing of unrestricted free agent NT Damon Harrison...
"I think the Giants were very competitive and very aggressive with that. I thought we were close. When it was all said and done, the Giants put a very good offer on the table for Snacks. We were disappointed we lost the player but we're very happy for him, too, on the other hand, that here's a guy that came into the league as a college free agent and had the ability to play and produce and then finally get a chance to go into free agency and be well-compensated for that. ... They made a very significant offer, it was above ours. We tried to close the gap the best we could."
6. On if the additions of DE Jarvis Jenkins and NT Steve McLendon were made more to find starters on the D-line or to add depth there...
"Let me first say this: They've agreed to terms with us. Both of them, in our minds, were good-value-type guys in the marketplace. That's what we sort of went in looking for. ... McLendon has experience at the nose tackle position, Jenkins has played more of all positons on the defensive line. ... Who will eventually start or not start, that will eventually play itself out over time, and Todd will make the determination on that."
7. On reported visits by two free agents, LB Courtney Upshaw and WR Jordan Norwood...
"It's funny, when you go through the [free agency] market, the first part of market is probably the more exciting part when all the big-dollar contracts are flying around. ... It doesn't get as much credit or weight as other signings do but there are still some good players out there and potentially some players that can help us. Both of those visits went very well and we'll see what happens as they go forward. I think both those players do have visits scheduled with other teams."
8. On CB Darrelle Revis' wrist surgery this week...
"I honestly became aware of it about a week ago or so. I'd have to defer to Darrelle about how it was affecting him. He really wasn't on our injury report because we never really treated it during the season. I think the most we probably did was tape his wrist up for gameday, which is what we did as a regular practice, nothing out of the ordinary. ... He was going for his exit physical, he was seeing a doctor for another thing and he mentioned his wrist. They looked into it, got a couple of opinions on it, and one of the doctors felt it was a potentially torn ligament that didn't show up on an MRI. When they did the surgery they found, I guess, a tear in that ligament and they fixed it."
9. On if left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson will be on the roster this year...
"Right now D'Brickashaw's under contract. Our thought would be he would be. Like with all players, and I said this early on, it's kind of a fluid free agency for us. We're trying to make decisions that are in the best interests of the organization both short- and long-term. So right now I'd say he would be on our roster going forward but we'll see how this thing unfolds."
