Ryan Fitzpatrick Describes his Love of Buffalo and Bills Fans

The quarterback felt more at home with the Bills than any of his other eight teams.

Sure looks like Ryan Fitzpatrick wants to be forever known as a Buffalo Bill, despite a journeyman career that landed him in eight other cities, some in which he experienced more success.

Speaking on the Adam Schefter Podcast, Fitzpatrick opened up about his love affair with Buffalo, where he spent four seasons before moving on to the Tennessee Titans.

"I don't know that I've ever felt more at home in a stadium or with a fanbase," he said. "I was in Buffalo for four years, but those are my people. I feel like I understand them and they understand me, and it was one of the great pleasures of my career playing there."

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Fitzpatrick retired last week. He spent more time with the Bills than with any other team in an improbable, 17-year career after being drafted by in the seventh round by the St. Louis Rams in 2005.

He wound up throwing more touchdown passes than anyone in that draft class except Aaron Rodgers, the Hall of Fame-bound quarterback of the Green Bay Packers who was taken in the first round.

That Fitzpatrick never had a winning season in Buffalo has never mattered to the Bills Mafia. He will go down as one of the team's most popular players of all time because of the way he connected with fans.

Another interesting note: Fitzpatrick's favorite NFL quarterback to watch is the Bills' Josh Allen, who arrived in Buffalo six seasons after Fitzpatrick departed.

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"I mean, the game is not supposed to be easy," Fitzpatrick said. "I promise it's not easy. Sometimes it would look like I had to struggle to throw the ball 10 yards sometimes. But some of these young guys that have come in, Patrick Mahomes, [Joe] Burrow, I mean, Josh Allen is my favorite because it looks effortless and he's so talented and he's still doesn't know how good he is. And he's just going to continue to get better.

"But it doesn't hurt also that he plays in Buffalo. It doesn't hurt that he fits that city to a tee in just the way he is, his demeanor. And I think a lot of it for him is he doesn't even realize how good he is and he's still humble that the work is going to come and his teammates are always going to play hard for him."

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Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.