At the age of 38, Ryan Fitzpatrick signed a one-year deal with the Washington Football Team. He is viewed by many observers as a stopgap solution at quarterback for Washington. However, head coach Ron Rivera doesn’t see why Fitzpatrick can’t be the team’s QB “for a while.”
“I think for right now, the focus has shifted to shoring up the rest of the positions. Again, there’s nothing that says Ryan Fitzpatrick can’t be the guy for a while,” Rivera told Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post during an interview.
Washington appears in dire need of a franchise quarterback after the failed experiment with 2019 first-round pick Dwayne Haskins. The team started four different quarterbacks in 2020 on their way to a 7-9 record and NFC East division title. Surely, the team doesn’t want to history to repeat itself.
Rivera insists there will be a competition at QB during training camp. Fitzpatrick is the front-runner. But, the team also has Taylor Heinicke, who emerged as the starter last season in Washington’s playoff loss to Tampa Bay. Kyle Allen, who started four games in 2020, is also returning from an ankle injury.
Yet, conventional wisdom suggests it’s Fitzpatrick’s job to lose. And if he grabs a hold of it, Rivera thinks there is no reason to not believe he will have it beyond 2021.
“If this dude continues to play at the level he has and with Brady showing everybody that these veteran guys can do it — just ask Phil Mickelson, he’ll tell you — then why not? Why would we want to move on? At the same time, we have a guy we have confidence in Taylor [Heinicke], we have confidence in Kyle [Allen], and we got a very young player in Steven Montez. So we’re kind of in an interesting position right now.”
Fitzpatrick has started games for eight different teams in the NFL. His longest stay with a team is four seasons while with the Buffalo Bills. There he started 53 games, including all 16 games for two consecutive seasons. He compiled a 20-33 records as a starter there.
The last time (and only other season) he started 16 games was in 2015 while with the New York Jets. Usually he is pegged a stopgap to a long-term option. Last season, Fitzpatrick played in nine games, starting seven with the Miami Dolphins, before being moved out the way for 2020 first-rounder Tua Tagovailoa.
History suggested it’s hard to believe he could latch on longer than one season in Washington. However, the fact Washington doesn’t have a younger cornerstone QB waiting his turn, Fitzpatrick’s odds are favorable, if he does well.
