Veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has reached an agreement with the Washington Football Team on a one-year deal worth $ 10 million that could grow to $ 12 million with incentives, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter Monday.
Fitzpatrick is expected to join the camp as a starter, the source said, with competition from Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen.
Washington knew it would be difficult to add a long-term fix to the off-season quarterback, but also knows it could compete for another NFC East title. Fitzpatrick offers the team someone who can play at a solid level for a less expensive contract, allowing WFT to build the rest of its roster after fouls.
Washington needs to add more receiver assistance – one of its main off-season goals – and especially wanted to add more speed to the position.
Fitzpatrick would be the organization’s 32nd starting quarterback since it won the Super Bowl after the 1991 season. Washington started last season with three quarterbacks: Allen, Dwayne Haskins and Alex Smith. It released Haskins before the end of the season and released Smith earlier this month.
Fitzpatrick, 38, is entering his 17th NFL season. He is the only quarterback in NFL history to start and throw touchdowns with eight different teams. Now he gets the chance to do it for the ninth.
Fitzpatrick is the ultimate journeyman and he enjoys the role – especially in the past two seasons when he was the bridge starter for the Miami Dolphins. Although at this point in his year-to-year career, Fitzpatrick told ESPN in February that it was a “very easy” decision to return to play in 2021.
He was instrumental in guiding the Dolphins of a Reconstruction team to one of the NFL’s best stories in 2020, as Miami jumped from five wins to a 10-6 record. In 2019, Fitzpatrick beat Josh Rosen in open competition to become the Dolphins starter for a season 5-11, where many believed the team was refueling early on. In 2020, Fitzpatrick re-started the season as a starter as the self-proclaimed placeholder and mentor to rookie Tua Tagovailoa.
Fitzpatrick started seven games in 2020, completing 68.5% of his passes and threw for 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also had a 76.9 QBR and was the undisputed leader of the Dolphins.
In true Fitzpatrick style, his last Dolphins moment came off the bench and led the team to a comeback victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. He tested positive for COVID-19 just a few days later, making him ineligible for the end-of-season loss against the Buffalo Bills.
Fitzpatrick ranks 10th among the active quarterbacks with 34,977 passing yards for 223 touchdowns with 169 interceptions in his career.
Information from ESPN’s John Keim and Cameron Wolfe was used in this report.