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A former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback is calling it a career.
As confirmed by Adam Schefter of ESPN, Ryan Fitzpatrick is retiring after 17 seasons in the league. The 39-year-old quarterback texted former teammates that he’s retiring.
Former Buffalo Bills teammate Fred Jackson was one of the players who received Fitzpatrick’s text and posted his own message of appreciation for the veteran quarterback on Twitter.
“Congrats on a Helluva career, Fitzy!! Loved sharing the field with you!! The gratitude is all mine!! #BillsMafia #fitzmagic,” said Jackson.
Fitzpatrick Started for 9 Teams in 17 Seasons
Across 17 seasons in the league, Fitzpatrick played for nine different teams — starting for all nine of them at some point — after being the selected in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL draft. Fitzpatrick’s mark of starting for nine different teams is an NFL record. Despite all of that experience, he never led a team to the postseason.
Fitzpatrick actually entered the 2021 season as the starting quarterback of the Washington Commanders after signing a one-year deal worth $10 million. However, he suffered a hip subluxation in Week 1 and missed the remainder of the season.
Fitzpatrick spent two seasons with the Buccaneers as Jameis Winston’s backup. He was temporarily named as the Buccaneers’ starter in 2018, before he was replaced by Winston just two weeks later. In 14 appearances and 10 starts for Tampa Bay, Fitzpatrick posted a 4-6 record with 24 touchdowns against 15 interceptions for a 94.7 quarterback rating — the second-highest passer rating of any single team he played on, behind the Houston Texans (95.3 rating).
Fitzpatrick ends his NFL career with 34,990 passing yards, 223 touchdowns and 169 interceptions after starting 147 games.
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Brady: Start of Free Agency Led to Return
Tom Brady says the start of free agency is what led to his return.
The 44-year-old quarterback briefly spent time in retirement in February before quickly announcing his decision to un-retire in March. In other words, Brady’s first foray into retirement lasted a total of 40 days.
During a roundtable discussion on TNT on Wednesday, Brady revealed why he decided to return just three days prior to the start of free agency.
“At this stage, it’s like 55 per cent yes and 45 per cent no. It’s not 100-0. That’s just the reality,” Brady said. “It’s not that I’m not 100 per cent committed, it’s just as soon as I make the commitment to do it, it’s like ‘Ugh. All right, here we go.'”
“It’s like running a marathon,” Brady continued. “You can’t decide two weeks before the marathon, ‘Hey, I’m going to start running.’ We got right to free agency and I felt some pressure to do it and talked to the team and organization and it all worked out.”
Since coming out of retirement, the Buccaneers have signed notable free agents, including the likes of Logan Ryan and Russell Gage. Tampa Bay has also managed to retain a number of notable players, including Chris Godwin, Ryan Jensen and Leonard Fournette. There’s little doubt that Brady’s return had a major influence over the Buccaneers’ offseason frenzy.
Considering the Buccaneers ended last season with a 13-3 record and just one possession away from advancing to the NFC Championship Game, Brady will look to end the 2022 season — and perhaps his career — with a better taste than the previous year.
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