After months of stalled contract negotiations, the Jets finally got their man: 34-year-old free agent Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Almost seven months after the veteran quarterback ended his breakout 2015 season, he and the Jets agreed to a one-year deal worth $12 million on Wednesday, according to multiple reports.

News of Fitzpatrick’s return was a welcome relief for fans and for an organization that had made it clear in January that it wanted to reunite with the 12-year pro. However, the two sides had long been at odds over money.

Early in free agency, sources indicted the Jets’ initial offer was about $7 million or $8 million a year – well below the going rate for NFL starting quarterbacks ($18 million) and what Fitzpatrick had expected.

Following his trade from Houston in March 2015, the career journeyman assumed the No. 1 job (after Geno Smith was injured in training camp) and helped transform a 4-12 club into a team eyeing a playoff berth. With Fitzpatrick leading their revamped offense, the Jets finished 10-6 last season, one win shy of the final AFC wild-card spot.

Fitzpatrick threw a career-high 31 touchdowns, a Jets franchise record, and 3,905 passing yards.

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Though he and the Jets had refused to budge on compensation until Wednesday, the Jets had long been considered Fitzpatrick’s likely landing spot.

The team signed running back Bernard Pierce and waived running back Zac Stacy, who failed his physical after missing the last half of last season with a broken left ankle.

RAMS: Los Angeles released quarterback Nick Foles after failing to find a trade destination for the disgruntled veteran.

Foles hasn’t been around the Rams since they traded up to choose California quarterback Jared Goff with the No. 1 pick in the draft this spring. The veteran skipped offseason workouts while Los Angeles attempted to trade him.

COWBOYS: Defensive end Randy Gregory is facing a longer suspension over another violation of the NFL’s substance-abuse policy, and owner Jerry Jones says he doesn’t expect to see the troubled player at training camp in California.

With Gregory already suspended for the first four games this season, Jones said Wednesday that the Cowboys haven’t heard from the league about a possible 10-game ban for another failed drug test.

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A day after reports that Gregory was in rehab, Jones acknowledged that the former Nebraska standout was undergoing treatment.

CARDINALS: Arizona signed linebacker Donald Butler and released linebacker Quayshawn Nealy, two days before their first training camp practice.

The terms of Butler’s contract weren’t disclosed.

The 6-foot-1, 242-pound inside linebacker spent six seasons with San Diego after being drafted in the third round out of Washington in 2010. He had 54 tackles, a fumble recovery, a forced fumble, a half-sack and five tackles for loss in 16 games – nine starts – last season.

BRONCOS: General Manager John Elway declared the Denver’ quarterback competition wide open.

Coach Gary Kubiak said he’ll split snaps between Mark Sanchez, Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch, beginning – but not set – in that order.

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There are also unknowns on defense such as when star cornerback Aqib Talib and pass-rusher DeMarcus Ware will be cleared to practice. Both are starting out on the non-football injury list, Ware after aggravating a bad back in the offseason and Talib after suffering a gunshot wound to his right leg.

RAVENS: A little more than eight months after being helped off the field at M&T Bank Stadium after suffering the first significant injury of his NFL career – torn ACL and MCL – quarterback Joe Flacco will step back on the practice field Thursday for the first time when the team opens camp in Owings Mills.

He plans to wear a protective brace both in practice and games throughout the season.

Asked if the toughest part of his comeback would be physical or mental, Flacco, 31, was as decisive as Coach John Harbaugh hopes the eight-year veteran will be when the team opens the 2016 season Sept. 11 at home against the Bills.

“I think it’ll be mentally,” Flacco told reporters. “I haven’t played since November, I haven’t really played football. I haven’t gotten any offseason reps. I think the biggest thing will be getting out there and getting my vision back and slowing things down at a good pace that I want them to be at.”

Coach John Harbaugh acknowledged that Mike Wallace did not pass the team’s conditioning test, which he’ll need to do before he’s permitted to practice with the team.

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Wallace could get another opportunity to pass the test on Thursday. The Ravens signed Wallace to a two-year, $11.5 million contract in March.

PANTHERS: Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kawann Short said he won’t hold out while awaiting a new contract from Carolina.

Short reported to training camp on time Wednesday, the same day the Panthers announced they gave safety Kurt Coleman a three-year extension that runs through the 2019 season. Short said he’ll play this season under his current deal if he doesn’t receive a contract extension.

TOM COUGHLIN will join the NFL’s football operations staff, a person with knowledge of the agreement tells The Associated Press.

The two-time Super Bowl-winning coach will work closely with Troy Vincent and with the NFL’s game-related committees in an advisory role.

Coughlin won 170 games in his 20 years as an NFL head coach, with Super Bowl wins in 2007 and 2011.


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