Ryan Fitzpatrick agreed to sign with his 9th NFL team in his 17th season as an NFL quarterback. The Washington Football Team will hope “Fitzmagic” will add a spark to an upcoming team that was stellar on the defensive side of the ball last season.
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The long-time journeyman and the WFT agreed to a 1 year deal worth $10M but could grow to $12M with incentives. It’s expected that Fitzpatrick will enter training camp as the starter, with playoff wonder boy Taylor Heinicke providing competition.
Ryan Fitzpatrick agrees to a one-year, $10M deal with the Washington Football Team, per @AdamSchefter
FITZMAGIC IS GOING TO WASHINGTON ✨ @brgridiron pic.twitter.com/fS7FeE4WoM
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 16, 2021
Ryan Fitzpatrick Stats
Ryan Fitzpatrick put together a solid 2020 season with the rejuvenated Miami Dolphins. He threw for 2,091 yards, 13 touchdowns and 8 interceptions across 9 games (starts). Fitzpatrick completed over 68% of his passes and had an impressive 95.6 passer rating. He was pivotal in transforming a rebuilding Dolphins team in 2019 that made an impressive 5 win jump in 2020 to finish the season 10-6, narrowly missing out on the playoffs.
Fitzpatrick was switched out for rookie starter Tua Tagovailoa coming out of the Dolphins Week 7 bye. However, the ultimate journeyman still made appearances during the season’s second half. The most memorable of the lot was when “Fitzmagic” entered a vital Week 16 game against the Raiders in the 4th quarter. He was pretty much automatic in the field, guiding the team to 13 points in the last 4 minutes, leading the team to a crucial win.
Highest-graded QBs past their first read since 2019:
Russell Wilson – 91.5
Josh Allen – 90.6
Patrick Mahomes – 90.1
Ryan Fitzpatrick – 86.7 pic.twitter.com/9JV78Fys1q— PFF (@PFF) March 14, 2021
What does Fitzpatrick do for the WFT’s playoff hopes?
Washington was part of one of the worst divisions in NFL history in 2020. But the Football Team capitalised on the situation and their excellent defence led a rebuilding team to win the division with a dismal 7-9 record. However, after cutting former first-round pick Dwayne Haskins midseason, the WFT knew they would have to enter the QB market in the 2021 season.
However, with the division title still up for grabs and a stout defence led by defensive Rookie of the Year, Chase Young, the WFT made a run for Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick provides the playoff hopeful team with stability at the QB position for a team friendly contract.
The Addition of Ryan Fitzpatrick will help Washington woo players in free agency to fill the holes in their offence. This move will also benefit 3rd year wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who really came into his element in the latter half of the season.
Wash can compete for division title with Fitzy
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) March 16, 2021
Will Fitzpatrick succeed in Washington?
Well, all the signs say yes. ESPN ranked him 5th in total QBR in 2020 (76.9) even though the Dolphins didn’t have a bona fide number 1 receiver on the team. The Harvard alum has played for the St. Louis Rams, the Bengals, the Bills, the Jets, the Titans, the Texans and the Buccaneers across a 16 year career but never made the playoffs.
He’ll have a good shot at changing that stat line, after his super-efficient 2020 season. However, playoffs or not, “Fitzmagic” in Washington will definitely be one of the most entertaining things to look out for next season!