Ryan Fitzpatrick has a new home, and he is entering the next training camp of his career as the expected starting quarterback of a playoff team.
Last season the Washington Football Team finished with a 7-9 record, and that was enough to propel them to the NFC East title and a home game in the first round of the playoffs. They would lose that contest — to the eventual Super Bowl Champions — and rewarded the starting quarterback in that game, Taylor Heinicke, with a new contract.
But understanding that the franchise cannot enter the 2021 campaign with just Heinicke as the potential starting quarterback, and sitting 19th overall in the first round, perhaps out of range of the top rookies in the incoming class, the team needed to make another move. That move has been made, as the organization reached an agreement with Fitzpatrick on a one-year deal worth $10 million and potentially up to $12 million with incentives:
Former Dolphins’ QB Ryan Fitzpatrick reached agreement with the Washington Football Team on a one-year deal worth $10 million that could grow to $12 million with incentives, per source. Fitzpatrick is expected to head to camp as the starter, with competition from Taylor Heinicke.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 16, 2021
Why is this a great signing for Washington? Two big reasons. First, should Heinicke somehow emerge as the starting quarterback Fitzpatrick is the rare veteran QB who has been willing to take on the role of mentor:
Ryan Fitzpatrick provided some incredible perspective to @EWood70 on his "What's Next" podcast on mentoring Tua Tagovailoa while also competing for the starting job. Strongly recommend reading his full thoughts. pic.twitter.com/UjyRP6GXUK
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) May 19, 2020
With his experience — and as we saw last season — Fitzpatrick can still step in with limited practice time and lead an offense. After all, this is the quarterback almost single-handedly threw the Miami Dolphins into playoff contention, and later in the season threw the Las Vegas Raiders out of playoff contention in dramatic fashion:
Ryan Fitzpatrick with a stunning effort on Saturday night. Looking at three of his nine completions in the thrilling victory for Miami.
*Timing and reading the coverage on Flat-7
*No hesitation on the safety-splitter, which set the stage for
*The play pic.twitter.com/DABMxPDuWC— Mark Schofield (@MarkSchofield) December 27, 2020
And that leads us to the second bit of evidence bolstering why this is a great move for Washington: Fitzpatrick can still play. He might not put up massive numbers, but he is a veteran quarterback who can run the offense and accept defeat on a given play. Why might that matter? As we saw last season the strength of the Football Team is their defense. Sometimes, taking a sack or throwing the ball away on third down and letting the punt team come on the field might be a good move for Washington.
This move gives the team much needed stability at the quarterback position, a veteran who has been willing to take on that mentorship role for younger players, and it allows the organization to address other needs in both free agency and the draft. Washington still might draft a quarterback at 19 should one fall. But they are not forced into that position. They have options. That is always a good thing.