Jets Land Minkah Fitzpatrick, But the REAL Question Still Looms at QB

Evan & Tiki

Audacy

Sports

4.2 • 988 Ratings

🗓️ 9 March 2026

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Jets kick off NFL free agency with a strong move, landing Minkah Fitzpatrick in a deal that feels like an instant win for a defense that badly needed help in the secondary. Evan and Tiki break down why Fitzpatrick is such a smart addition, what he brings to the Jets right away, and why this move shows New York is trying to win now. But even after the Minkah trade, the biggest issue remains the same: quarterback. With legal tampering underway, the conversation turns to the Jets’ most important decision of the offseason. Is there any real path that makes sense? Why do names like Carson Wentz and Geno Smith feel like a disaster waiting to happen? Could a riskier swing like Kyler Murray, Malik Willis, or even Tua Tagovailoa give the Jets at least some hope?

Transcript

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0:00.0	There's a lot of football today because at 12 o'clock, the legal tampering period begins with NFL free agency involving both the Giants and the Jets.
0:07.4	And the New York Jets are on the board with what I like to call a no-brainer trade.
0:12.4	There are certain moves that a team makes, and you can argue it, you can say, that's too much.
0:16.6	I don't like it. I don't love this.
0:18.5	They gave up a freaking late round draft pick for a two-time all-pro safety, who's 29 years old.
0:26.5	They gave him a brand new contract of three years and $30 million.
0:29.8	And for a defense that needs a whole lot of adding, adding Minka Fitzpatrick and giving up nothing is a rare good day and good moment for the New York Jets. Yeah, when you look at the Jets last year, one of the glaring weaknesses was their secondary, and particularly their safety positions. Andre Sisko was bad when he came over. Tony Adams was even worse. Those guys are free agents. They will not be signed. I mean, he hoped you get something out of Malachi Moore, who was a fourth round pick last year, who would be the other strong safety in this situation. But Minka Fitzpatrick is such an interesting case because we all remember, what is? Four years ago, he got traded from Miami to Pittsburgh, and we thought, well, this is going to be fantastic for him.
1:17.0	He's going to turn into an all-pro top-end safety, but for whatever reason, his production declined.
1:18.0	He was not effective.
1:21.7	He battled a little bit of injury here and there, and he wasn't the same player.
1:29.5	He goes back to Miami, and he gets back into that Pro Bowl type of quality, a guy who can play deep and also down in the box.
1:33.3	So it's a good early deal for the Jets.
1:34.5	This is not free agency.
1:35.4	That has a start a jet.
1:38.1	The Jets have a lot to do in free agency.
1:40.8	Safety was a position we thought they would address.
1:41.1	Yes. But quarterback they still need.
1:43.1	Edge they still need.
1:45.5	Offensive line they still need. Maybe another wide receiver. But quarterback they still need, edge they still need, offensive line they still need,
1:50.7	maybe another wide receiver, but they got the free agency period started with a trade that I think benefits them in the short and long term.
1:53.8	So far, and it is still the early going of the Muhe era, he knows what he's doing.
1:59.4	Yes.
	...

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