QB Ryan Fitzpatrick appears to announce retirement after 17 seasons
It appears that the 17-year "Fitzmagic" ride that made stops with nine different NFL franchises has come to a close.
Former running back Fred Jackson — who spent eight of his nine pro seasons with the Buffalo Bills — seems to have spilled the beans on a retirement decision from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick on Thursday. The duo played together with the Bills from 2009 to 2012.
Jackson's tweet isn't the only news Thursday on Fitzpatrick, as NFL insider Ian Rappoport shared that the journeyman quarterback may be making a move into the media ranks with Amazon.
If Fitzpatrick has played his final NFL snap, he wraps his career with 34,990 passing yards, 223 touchdowns and 169 interceptions, while posting a 60.7% completion percentage and 82.3 quarterback rating in 166 contests. Frequently thought of as a pure "gunslinger" across the league, the Harvard product led the NFL in yards per pass attempt (9.6) and yards per completion (14.4) during his second season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2018.
After two years with the Miami Dolphins in 2019 and 2020, Fitzpatrick signed a one-year deal with Washington in March 2021. The Gilbert, Ariz., native suffered a hip injury in the second quarter of Week 1 though and missed the rest of the season.
At the end of the 2021 campaign, Fitzpatrick ranked inside the top-10 among active players in numerous categories. Some of the positive ones included passes completed (ninth), passing yards (ninth) and passing touchdowns (ninth), but he also ranked fourth in interceptions (169) and sixth in fumbles (84).
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