Why Ryan Fitzpatrick believes his entire career has prepared him for this moment
Wanna know how long Ryan Fitzpatrick has been in the league?
His first touchdown pass was to Torry Holt.
And his second was to Isaac Bruce.
Both Rams legends have been out of the league for a decade.
Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, will start his for his record eighth NFL team Sunday — a testament to his longevity and tenacity.
So wring your hands, Dolphins fans, about the great talent purge of the past eight months.
Fitzpatrick couldn’t be more pumped about the season to come.
Starting Sunday against the Ravens is the entire reason he signed with the Dolphins in the spring.
“You know it is [rewarding],” Fitzpatrick said Wednesday. “It’s something that’s never been done before. Just in terms of who I am and the career I’ve had and the different places I’ve been, this means a lot to me.
“I think, in terms of me being in this spot and this place right now, I think my career has led me to this, and I fit well in the role I’m being asked to play right now.”
He has been a lot of places. First in St. Louis with the Rams. Then Cincinnati with the Bengals. Then in Buffalo with the Bills for four seasons. Then in Tennessee with the Titans, Houston with the Texans, New York with the Jets and Tampa Bay with the Buccaneers.
He has won 50 of his 126 starts, thrown 190 touchdown passes, 148 interceptions and has thrown for 16.7 miles in NFL games.
He has been on a 10-6 team and an 5-11 team.
He has been paid $62 million throughout the course of his career, with another $1.5 million in base salary coming this fall. He has been cut by three times and been traded twice.
He has been in the league so long, receiver Jakeem Grant remembers watching him when Grant was in elementary school, “and now I’m playing alongside him. I’m like, ‘Dang man, you’re still here?’”
Added coach Brian Flores: “Well, that is a testament to Ryan Fitzpatrick. It is hard to start at quarterback in this league, so that is a testament to him and the work he has put in. He is a really good player, he is a good leader and I am excited to have him. I am excited to watch him go out there and play.”
Fitzpatrick is excited to go out there and play.
But it won’t be easy. He has never been part of a team like he has now been asked to lead, one with probably the worst talent in the league and one that just traded its franchise left tackle and his security guard.
And yet, he’s fine with it. He’s a smart guy — he went to Harvard, you might have heard — and probably knew what was coming when he signed with Miami, even if he never asked Flores and general manager Chris Grier to articulate their vision for the 2019 roster.
“I saw it as a job, a chance to get out there and play, and I love playing football,” Fitzpatrick said. “That was all I needed: a chance to compete.”
He not only got that chance, but beat out Josh Rosen in the training camp competition. But that might be the easy part for what’s to come: a demanding schedule with the team’s youngest roster.
“The biggest thing that I’ve learned is nobody is going to feel sorry for you on Sunday,” Fitzpatrick said. “No other team is going to come in and say, man, they don’t have this, or they have this, or they look different from last year. Nobody is going to feel sorry for you in this league. That’s why all our energy and focus has to be put on going out there and putting on the best performance that we can.”
This story was originally published September 4, 2019 at 4:00 PM.