Ryan Fitzpatrick managed to practise last week ahead of the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, however it's been revealed that he will need surgery at some point and the healing time following surgery would be 10-12 weeks. Ryan may have that surgery as early as Friday, a day after the Jets take on the 4-4 Buffalo Bills. it would allow him 9 days to rest before having to suit up again.
Not only did Fitzpatrick play against the Jaguars, but he had a very solid game showing no ill-effects of his injury. He led the Jets to a 28-23 victory over the Jaguars, throwing two touchdowns and not turning the ball over.
He also managed to avoid any big hits while on the move. There was one moment where he seemed to duck into an oncoming Paul Posluszny tackle, but those moments were rare.
Dom Cosentino of NJ.com spoke with a specialist surgeon to investigate whether having surgery in season would force Ryan to miss any games. With the Jets in a play-off hunt, losing the solid if unspectacular Fitzpatrick would be devastating to a team who has finally found a little rhythm in the passing game after years of terrible play.
However, if the Jets' doctors and trainers are able to stabilize the thumb—which they've already done in the week since the injury—Hausman said it's possible Fitzpatrick could continue to play without missing a beat.
"Surgery would be the beginning of the healing process," Hausman said.
If Fitzpatrick were to postpone surgery until after the season—the Jets have at least eight more weeks of games remaining—Hausman said Fitzpatrick could run the risk of having the ligament shrivel and shrink, which would require a more-complex tendon graft to be done to re-attach it to the bone.