Conflicting reports have broken as to whether or not Colin Kaepernick wants to play for the New York Jets, but Brandon Marshall has already cast his vote in favor of the quarterback staying out of the Big Apple.
The latest report is that Kaepernick is not interested in the Jets, which would suit Marshall just fine. The Jets wide receiver expressed his feelings about Kap talking with Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith of ESPN:
“I don’t want Kaepernick. I think he’s good. My guy’s Fitz.”
Marshall continued with his praise of Fitzpatrick:
“Ryan Fitzpatrick, I think, this second half of his career is going to be an amazing one because he’s with his guy Chan Gailey, he’s comfortable, and he really owns this offense. That’s what you want out of the quarterback position.”
Marshall speaks much truth. The Jets finished 10-6 (second best in the AFC East) with Fitzpatrick under center, and they nearly made it to the playoffs. Also, their 10 wins were the most the team has accomplished since their 2010 playoff season.
And for personal reasons, it is easy to see why Marshall supports Fitzpatrick. Marshall broke his career-high 12 touchdowns by scoring 14 last season. Plus he was just six yards shy of his career-best mark in total receiving yards with 1,502.
Furthermore, Eric Decker recorded 1,027 yards and 12 touchdowns. Between Marshall and Decker, they broke the NFL record for most touchdown receptions by two receivers on the same team. That couldn’t have been accomplished without the help of Fitzpatrick.
And from a fantasy football perspective, nobody wants Kap coming on to the scene and messing up any of these stats. In nine games last season Kaepernick passed for a lousy six touchdowns.
Keeping things status-quo on the Jets’ offense seems to make most sense.