Less than a month after former Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick officially announced his retirement on June 2, the 39-year-old journeyman confirmed he has a new job in the NFL.
Fitzpatrick played for the Bills between 2009 and 2012. Originally drafted in the seventh round by the St. Louis Rams in 2005, he played for several teams including the Tennessee Titans, Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Texans, New York Jets, Miami Dolphins and the Washington Commanders during his 17-year career.
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After nearly two decades in the NFL, the Harvard alum is taking his knowledge and talent and becoming a pregame analyst for Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football broadcast. While rumors swirled he’d transition to TV host, Fitzpatrick officially confirmed the news to The New Post’s Andrew Marchand on Tuesday, June 21.
The father of seven previously appeared on Rich Gaenzler’s “Bull in the Basement” podcast to discuss what led him to retire and his plans moving forward.
As for when he started thinking about ending his NFL career, “I contemplated retirement after the 2016 season which was [the] Jets. Miserable. Hated every second of it. Hated football. Wasn’t a great year for me. I just didn’t play very well. After that, kind of refound the passion, refound the fire.
“But unfortunately last year, I had the hip injury. So it kinda started after my second scan, the MRI, just some of the results that came back, it wasn’t looking necessarily exciting in there. And then part of it, too, [is] my oldest is in high school now. A lot of different factors that have gone into it.”
Prime Video announced that former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick officially will join its NFL pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage this coming season for Thursday Night Football. Fitzpatrick will be teamed with Tony Gonzalez and Richard Sherman for each TNF game.
Fitz told the Post that becoming an analyst allows him to remain involved with the game but also spend more time with his family. “For me to be able to sit down with my kids and watch some of these games on Sunday, it is something I haven’t had a whole lot of time to do these last 17 years,” he said.
The Bills Take on the New England Patriots on TNF in Week 13
GettyJosh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills walks off the field after a game against the New England Patriots at Highmark Stadium on January 15, 2022 in Buffalo, New York.
The forever fan-favorite Bills player seems to be the perfect fit to become an NFL analyst. Starting on September 15, Amazon Prime will exclusively air 15 Thurday Night Football games, which means Fitzpatrick will give pregame color commentary for when Buffalo take on the Patriots in New England on December 1.
The primetime AFC East rivalry matchup is scheduled for Week 13, and joining Fitzpatrick on the desk will be two other retired NFL veterans, Richard Sherman and Tony Gonzalez. As for the play-by-play commentary, Amazon Prime tapped perennial commentator Al Michaels and former ESPN College GameDay host Kirk Herbstreit.
“Amazon jumped out at me,” Fitzpatrick told the Post. “In terms of it is something that’s fresh and new. It just made a lot of sense of what I was trying to get into.”
Fitzpatrick Has High Hopes for Josh Allen & the Bills This Season
During his podcast appearance earlier this month, Fitzpatrick couldn’t help but gush over Josh Allen and the Bills. “He’s got an amazing skill set. But I’ve gotten to know him off the field as well, and he’s young, dumb and fun, just one of the guys. What he did in the playoffs this year was absolutely unbelievable, and it’s such a shame it didn’t go further — but it was one of the greatest runs of two games in the playoffs that anybody has ever seen.”
GettyAllen and Fitzpatrick in 2019.
Though Allen is already considered elite, Fitzpatrick believes that he hasn’t even reached his peak.”He continues to get better and better every year, which is a really scary thought,” Fitzpatrick said.
“I think we can all remember he was a 50 or 52 … 55% passer a couple of years ago and now, he’s just absolutely deadly. The accuracy, the decision-making. … He looks bigger and different from anyone else on the field. Couple that will guys love playing with him and playing for him, that’s a pretty good combination right there.”
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Former Buffalo Bills Quarterback Lands Primetime NFL Gig