National Football League

Recapping Ryan Fitzpatrick's scenic, nine-team, 16-year NFL career

Published Mar. 17, 2021 5:53 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

He's like a cat.

Free-agent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick agreed to terms with the Washington Football Team on Monday, marking the ninth club for the veteran signal-caller.

Fitzpatrick will join a quarterback room featuring Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen, but the signing points to the veteran being favored to be the starter once training camp rolls around.

The 38-year-old bearded wonder is headed into his 17th season, and he is the only quarterback in league history to start and throw touchdowns for eight different clubs.

As he takes his historic résumé to the NFC East to play in the sixth division of his career, let's take a look back at Fitzpatrick's stops along the way. 

Team: St. Louis Rams
Years: 2005, 2006
Starting record: 0-3 
Club career stats: 56.3 completion percentage, 777 passing yards, 4 passing touchdowns, 8 interceptions

The Rams selected Fitzpatrick in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft.

Fitzpatrick started his rookie season as the third-string QB but made his regular-season debut in the second quarter against the Houston Texans in Week 12, leading the Rams to an overtime win.

He threw three touchdowns and passed for 310 yards in the contest, making him one of only eight players to pass for at least 300 yards in his first NFL game.

Team: Cincinnati Bengals
Years: 2007, 2008
Starting record: 4-7-1 
Club career stats: 59.4 completion percentage, 1,905 pass yards, 8 passing touchdowns, 9 interceptions

Fitzpatrick finished the 2008 season ranked third in rushing yards among quarterbacks (304), finishing behind Tyler Thigpen and David Garrard.

Team: Buffalo Bills
Years: 2009-2012
Starting record: 20-33 
Club career stats: 59.8 completion percentage, 11,654 passing yards, 80 passing touchdowns, 64 interceptions 

Fitzpatrick played more seasons with the Bills (four) than he has with any other team.

He holds the record for longest touchdown pass in Buffalo history, with a 98-yard bomb to Terrell Owens during the 2009 season.

Despite the Bills' finishing 4-12 (4-9 with him starting), Fitzpatrick had a breakout season in 2010, recording at least one touchdown pass in 13 consecutive games.

In the 2011 season, Fitzpatrick was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Month for September and posted three 300-yard performances, with a season-high 369 yards against the New England Patriots.

Team: Tennessee Titans
Year: 2013
Starting record: 3-6 
Club career stats: 62.0 completion percentage, 2,454 passing yards, 14 passing touchdowns, 12 interceptions

Despite Fitzpatrick's losing record in 2013, in the final two games of the season, he earned wins over division rivals Houston and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Team: Houston Texans
Year: 2014
Starting record: 6-6 
Club career stats: 63.1 completion percentage, 2,483 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns, 8 interceptions

Fitzpatrick tossed a franchise-record six touchdowns and threw for 358 yards with no interceptions (a 147.5 passer rating) against the Titans in Week 13 en route to earning AFC Offensive Player of the Week.

Team: New York Jets
Years: 2015, 2016
Starting record: 13-14 
Club career stats: 58.3 completion percentage, 6,615 passing yards, 43 passing touchdowns, 32 interceptions

In 2015, Fitzpatrick secured his first winning season as a starter, at 10-6, but the Jets still missed the playoffs. Fitzpatrick also broke Vinny Testaverde's franchise record for touchdown passes in a single season (31), set in 1998.

Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Years: 2017, 2018 
Starting record: 4-6 
Club career stats: 63.6 completion percentage, 3,469 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns, 15 interceptions

Fitzpatrick was the Bucs' starting quarterback to begin the 2018 season and was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week in Weeks 1 and 2. His incredible performance the first two weeks of the season revived his old Bills nickname, "Fitzmagic."

He posted his third consecutive game with 400 passing yards in Week 3, becoming the first player in league history to record such a streak. He recorded another 400-yard game in Week 10, which tied him with Dan Marino and Peyton Manning for the NFL's single-season record.

Team: Miami Dolphins
Years: 2019, 2020
Starting record: 9-11 
Club career stats: 64.2 completion percentage, 5,620 passing yards, 33 passing touchdowns, 21 interceptions

Fitzpatrick ended the 2019 season with 243 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. His yards on the ground led the Dolphins, and he became the oldest player to lead a team in rushing (37 years, 35 days old).

Fitzpatrick won the Dolphins' starting job for the second consecutive year by beating rookie Tua Tagovailoa in 2020.

In Week 3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Fitzpatrick extended his NFL record for wins against a single opponent with a different team to six.

share

Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

National Football League

Tennessee Titans

Cincinnati Bengals

Miami Dolphins

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

New York Jets

Houston Texans

Buffalo Bills

Washington Commanders