Longtime NFL Quarterback Retiring After 17 Seasons

By Brian Jones

A longtime NFL quarterback is calling it a career. According to multiple reports, Ryan Fitzpatrick is retiring from the NFL after 17 seasons. NFL Network was the first to report the news, but former Buffalo Bills teammate Fred Jackson first shared a screenshot of a text message from Fitzpatrick making the unofficial announcement. 

According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Fitzpatrick is in talks with Amazon for a key role. Amazon will be the exclusive home for Thursday Night Football and has already hired NFL Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez as an analyst along with Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit calling the action. 

Fitzpatrick, 39, played with nine different teams in his 17 seasons in the NFL. He was selected in the seventh round by the St. Louis Rams (now Los Angeles Rams)  in the 2005 NFL Draft and would play with the team for two seasons. Fitzpatrick would then play for the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins and Washington Football team (now Washington Commanders). His best season was in 2015 when he led the Jets to a 10-6 record and threw for 3,905 yards and 31 touchdowns. Last year, Fitzpatrick played for Washington and saw action in just one game due to a season-ending injury. 

"This is the best situation I've ever been in or the best situation that I've ever gone into as the guy," Fitzpatrick said during an appearance on the ESPN Daily podcast, per Pro Football Talk. "I signed to be the starter in Houston. I signed to be the starter in Miami, so this is now the third team that I've signed to come in and be the starter for. I just feel like the way that I'm playing the last four years, kind of the progression of my career, it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense that 17 years in, physically, I feel great, mentally, emotionally. I'm in the right spot. I just think I am set up for success this year and really looking forward to it." 

In his career, Fitzpatrick played in 166 games with 147 starts and threw for 34,900 yards, 223 touchdowns and 169 interceptions with an 82.3 passer rating. He holds the record for most touchdown passes by an Ivy League graduate as he went to school at Harvard. 

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