NFL Free Agency: Washington Football Team signs Ryan Fitzpatrick to a one-year deal
The Washington Football Team may have just landed their starting QB for the 2021 NFL season, as Washington has signed journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick to a one-year, $10 million deal.
Washington was considered one of the four to five teams coming into the 2021 off-season that would have a true question mark at the QB position.
NFL Free Agency: Signing Ryan Fitzpatrick keeps Washington Football Team as contenders in the NFC East
There's no question that Washington fans should doubt Ryan Fitzpatrick's age and performance deterioration since entering the NFL in 2005, but he was likely the best free-agent QB left on the market and did not require the team to give up so much in a trade.
Known as "Fitzmagic" around the league by fans, he has spent his time with eight different teams in the league after being drafted by the then St. Louis Rams in 2005. The 38-year-old QB has played for the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Miami Dolphins.
In the 2020 NFL regular season, Fitzpatrick played in 9 games and started in 7 games, before rookie QB Tua Tagoviloa was named the starting QB in Week 8. In those 9 games, Fitzpatrick completed 183 of 267 passes for 2,091 yards with 13 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.
While Tom Brady has shown us that age is just a number, Fitzpatrick is also quietly doing pretty well.
Washington Football Team fans should not worry as Ryan Fitzpatrick could be a great option as a bridge QB to a much younger player that the team potentially may draft. GM Martin Mayhew and OC Scott Turner attended Trey Lance's pro day and he could be one of few QB's that may fall to the 19th position in the upcoming NFL draft.
Either way Ryan Fitzpatrick is not the long-term solution and the organization is looking at each season one by one, considering they can keep that stellar defense for only so long. Washington Football Team will still be an NFC playoff contender this coming season and fans should be excited.