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          NFL Nation

          Jets' long-range QB forecast: Mostly cloudy, with a chance of Romo?

          • Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff WriterOct 1, 2016, 07:00 AM ET
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              Rich Cimini is a staff writer who covers the New York Jets and the NFL at ESPN. Rich has covered the Jets for over 30 years, joining ESPN in 2010. Rich also hosts the Flight Deck podcast. He previously was a beat writer for the New York Daily News and is a graduate of Syracuse University. You can follow him via Twitter @RichCimini.
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          Our mailbag question this week focuses on the future of the New York Jets' quarterback position, always a relevant topic. I was tempted to pick six, but it's probably not the best week for that. Ouch.

          @RichCimini: First of all, I think it's too early to write off Ryan Fitzpatrick. A week ago, he was AFC Offensive Player of the Week, and now people want to run him out of town. The next four games -- all quality opponents -- will go a long way toward determining his fate.

          But let's run with your premise. Let's say they choose not to re-sign Fitzpatrick after the season. Let's say Geno Smith departs as a free agent, which will happen, count on it. Does Todd Bowles hand the reins to Christian Hackenberg or Bryce Petty? Unless one of them sees the field this season and displays promise, no, I don't see them anointing a quarterback with no regular-season experience. That would be a full-blown rebuild, a tough sell to the fan base. Neither one of them is Carson Wentz.

          Despite his current shoulder injury, Petty is further along than Hackenberg, which was pretty obvious in the preseason. That said, the organization likes Hackenberg's long-term potential. The Jets made the right move by keeping four quarterbacks because it allows them to hedge their bets for the future. The problem is, neither one of them is getting significant work at practice. Petty is banged up and Hackenberg is picking up the scraps -- the reps that don't go to Fitzpatrick and Smith. It's hard to get better when you're not playing a lot.

          Chances are they'd need a "bridge" quarterback to hold the position until Petty and/or Hackenberg is ready. It's a vicious cycle, isn't it? The Jets always seem to be looking for a guy to hold the fort until the next guy is ready, but it never works out as planned.

          There could be some interesting names on the quarterback market next offseason -- Tony Romo, Jay Cutler, Trevor Siemian, Kirk Cousins, to name a few. No matter what happens, the quarterback situation will be the No. 1 storyline in the offseason.

          As usual.