'Forever Grateful': Ryan Fitzpatrick, Former Washington QB, Retires After 17 NFL Seasons
The NFL lost a little bit of its magic Thursday after the announcement that journeyman quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick would retire.
The news first came from former Buffalo Bills running back Fred Jackson, who was Fitzpatrick's teammate from 2009-12.
Fitzpatrick played for nine teams during his 17-year NFL career. He played for the St. Louis Rams (2005-06), Cincinnati Bengals (2007-08), Bills (2009-12), Tennessee Titans (2013), Houston Texans (2014), New York Jets (2015-16), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2017-18), Miami Dolphins (2019-20) and the Washington Football Team (2021).
Fitzpatrick was the Week 1 starter ahead of last season, but after suffering a hip subluxation in the first game of the season, the journeyman quarterback was placed on injured reserve.
Should he stay retired, that would have been the final play of his career.
Fitzpatrick was seen as a player who could help keep Washington in the playoff race after a 2020 NFC East title, but his injury set Washington's 2021 season into a tailspin that forced the team to play catchup from the start. Taylor Heinicke took over Fitzpatrick's starting duties for most of the season.
As a free agent, Fitzpatrick was waiting to see if there was any interest in him joining a team in 2022, but nobody was willing to sign the 39-year-old to a contract.
The Washington Commanders had high hopes for Fitzpatrick, but those subsided during the season and any hopes of a return to the nation's capital were put to rest once the team traded for Carson Wentz earlier in the offseason.
