Tough End to Regular Season for Fitzpatrick

Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick's second regular season with the team will end on the Reserve/COVID-19 list

Ryan Fitzpatrick's second regular season with the Miami Dolphins had its share of ups and downs, and it ended in one of the most disappointing ways possible.

Fitzpatrick was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday after testing positive, knocking him out of the regular season finale against the Buffalo Bills, a game the Dolphins might need to win to secure a spot in the playoffs.

It would be the first playoff berth of Fitzpatrick's 16-year NFL career, but now he won't get to celebrate the moment with his teammates if it does happen.

And if the Dolphins end up losing against Buffalo and subsequently missing out on the playoffs, which would happen were a loss to be combined with victories by Baltimore, Cleveland and Indianapolis, it's fair to wonder whether that's how Fitzpatrick's career would end.

Fitzpatrick turned 38 in November and has seven children, and his contract expires after this season.

While he has not addressed this season his future plans, he repeatedly has indicated that what he enjoys is being on the field, but his days as a full-time starter appear to be over, at least in Miami where Tua Tagovailoa is the future and maybe everywhere else in the NFL.

The more ideal scenario for Fitzpatrick obviously is a Dolphins win Sunday and a playoff date on Sunday, Jan. 10, which would give him a chance to return after he's forced to isolate for 10 days.

"He’s our guy," wide receiver Isaiah Ford said. "If this year taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected. We all love Ryan, but we have a job to do and we’re all focused getting that done.”

Even though he was the team MVP in 2019, Fitzpatrick's second season with the Dolphins was much better from a statistical standpoint — which makes sense given the overall improvement of the team.

Fitzpatrick set a career high in completion percentage at 68.5 and his passer rating of 95.6 was his second-highest, behind only the 100.4 he posted in 2018 while with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

To put what Fitzpatrick did in 2020 in perspective, his passer rating is the highest for a Dolphins quarterback with at least 100 pass attempts since 2008 when Chad Pennington posted a mark of 97.4.

Fitzpatrick was 3-3 as a starter before being replaced by Tagovailoa during the team's bye in October and won another start against the Jets on Nov. 29 when Tua was sidelined with a thumb injury.

Of course, Fitzpatrick also came off the bench twice to replace Tagovailoa, including last Saturday night when he led  the Dolphins to a wild 26-25 come-from-behind victory.

Behind his contributions on the field, Fitzpatrick is a leader on the team and a great mentor for Tagovailoa, which made the news Thursday all the more disappointing for his teammates, who found out in the morning during a Zoom meeting.

“It hurts,” safety Eric Rowe said. “He’s a leader of our team. He brings energy. I’m sure it’s worse for him because he loves the game and nobody wants to catch COVID. With that, you have to push forward. My reaction was praying for his health. That’s a real deal thing. Just praying he doesn’t have the symptoms and didn’t spread it to his family.”