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NFL World Lovingly Says Farewell To Ryan Fitzpatrick, Who Has Announced His Retirement After 16 Seasons

#Ryan Fitzpatrick
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Ryan Fitzpatrick Announces His Retirement After 16 Seasons In The NFL

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  • Ryan Fitzpatrick has retired from the National Football League after 16 seasons.
  • During his career, Fitzpatrick started for nine different NFL franchises, the most of all time.
  • “Fitzmagic” was one of the league’s most-liked players during his time in the NFL and the response to his retirement proves it.

UPDATE: According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, “sources say Fitzpatrick been engaged in talks with Amazon concerning a possible role as an analyst on Thursday Night Football.”

Ryan Fitzpatrick, one of the mainstays at the quarterback position in the NFL over the last decade despite never being one of the game’s elite players, has announced that he is retiring from the league after 16 seasons.

Originally drafted out of Harvard University by the (then) St. Louis Rams in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft, “Fitzmagic” ultimately played for nine different NFL franchises and passed for 34,990 yards and 223 touchdowns.

Due to his journeyman career and gunslinger mentality, he is the only NFL player to throw a touchdown pass and interception with eight different teams. Additionally, he holds the record for quarterbacks in terms of most-franchises-started-for with nine: the St. Louis Rams, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Bucs, Miami Dolphins, and the Washington Commanders.

NFL fans pay tribute to Ryan Fitzpatrick following his retirement announcement

 

Given his outsized intelligence and personality, it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise if the magic networks came knocking on his door to see if he’d be interested in taking up a career in broadcasting. And with the money that networks are giving quarterbacks to come call games these days, a man as smart as Fitzmagic would certainly kick the tires on play-by-playing being a potential career path.

As a Jets fan, I was lucky enough to root for Fitzpatrick during the 2015-16 season as he led the team to 10 wins. Despite not making the playoffs (because of course not, it’s the Jets), it’s one of the most successful seasons the franchise has had in the last decade (lol) and included this epic win over the Pats, which I was actually at with my Pops (it was the game where Bill Belichick outsmarted himself and decided to KICK in overtime). Thanks for the memories, Fitzmagic.

RELATED: Ryan Fitzpatrick Calls Out Tom Brady For His Habitual Postgame Handshake Snubs

Eric Italiano BroBIble avatar
Eric Italiano is a NYC-based writer who spearheads BroBible's Pop Culture and Entertainment content. He covers topics such as Movies, TV, and Video Games, while interviewing actors, directors, and writers.
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