Veteran fullback Ryan Fitzpatrick has agreed with the Washington Football Team on a $ 10 million one-year deal that could grow to $ 12 million with incentives, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday.
Fitzpatrick is expected to go to camp as an appetizer, the source said, with competition from Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen.
Washington knew he would struggle to add a long-term solution to the quarterback this season, but he also knows it could contest another NFC East title. Fitzpatrick offers the team someone who can play at a fixed level for a cheaper contract, enabling WFT to build the rest of his roster on offense.
Washington needs to add more help to the receiver – one of its primary goals this season – and especially wanted to add more speed to the position.
Fitzpatrick would be the organization’s 32nd starting quarterback since winning the Super Bowl after the 1991 season. Washington started last season with three fullbacks: Allen, Dwayne Haskins and Alex Smith. It released Haskins before the end of the season and left Smith earlier this month.
Fitzpatrick, 38, is entering his 17th NFL season. He is the only quarterback in NFL history to start and throw with eight different team tackles. Now he has the chance to do it for a ninth time.
Fitzpatrick is the best traveler and he enjoys the role – especially during the past two seasons when he was the bridge starter for the Miami Dolphins. Although he was at this stage of his career year after year, Fitzpatrick told ESPN in February that it was a ‘very easy’ decision to play back in 2021.
He played a big role in leading the Dolphins from a rebuilding team to one of the NFL’s best stories in 2020, as Miami made a five-game victory to a 10-6 record. In 2019, Fitzpatrick knocked out Josh Rosen in an open competition to become the Dolphins starter for a 5-11 season, where many people viewed the team early on. In 2020, Fitzpatrick started the season again as the starter as the self-proclaimed ‘placeholder’ and mentor for rookie Tua Tagovailoa.
Fitzpatrick started seven games in 2020, completing 68.5% of his passes and hitting 13 times and intercepting eight. He also had a 76.9 QBR and was the undisputed leader of the Dolphins.
In true Fitzpatrick style, his last Dolphins moment was coming off the bench and leading the team to a comeback over the Las Vegas Raiders. He tested positive for COVID-19 a few days later, which could not take him into account for the season lost during the Buffalo Bills.
Fitzpatrick is in tenth place among active backs with 34,977 passing yards that has yielded 223 touchdowns with 169 interceptions in his career.
Information from ESPN’s John Keim and Cameron Wolfe was used in this report.