Ryan Fitzpatrick, the enigmatic Harvard quarterback who brought his “FitzMagic” to the NFL for nine 17-season teams, announced his retirement Thursday, a source confirmed to ESPN.
Fitzpatrick, popular throughout his career among his peers and known for his prolific beard, made the announcement in a text message to his former teammates.
Fitzpatrick, 39, suffered a hip subluxation at the end of the season in the second quarter of the Washington Commanders’ initial loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in September and had to undergo arthroscopic surgery.
Congratulations on your career Helluva, Fitzy !! I loved sharing the field with you !! Thank you is mine !! #BillsMafia #fitzmagic pic.twitter.com/s7n4DsiLJ7
– Fred Jackson (@ Fred22Jackson) June 2, 2022
He had signed a one-year, $ 10 million deal with Washington in March 2021.
In 17 seasons, Fitzpatrick started 147 games, throwing for 34,990 yards and 223 touchdowns with 169 interceptions. He began his career as a seventh-round pick for the St. Louis Rams in 2005, and also played for the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins and Washington. during his career.
He started games for the nine teams, which is an NFL record among quarterbacks. Fitzpatrick, however, never made it to the playoffs during his career.
Fitzpatrick spent most of his career and started the most games in Buffalo, 20-33 in 53 regular-season starts for four seasons with the Bills from 2009 to 2012. In 2010, though, Starting the year as starting quarterback, Fitzpatrick pitched 3,000 yards, becoming the first Bills quarterback to do so in a season since JP Losman in 2006.
Eventually, he was unable to stay as a long-term starter with the Bills, and endured a nine-year period of losing seasons. In his Bills career, he threw 80 touchdown passes and had 64 interceptions.
Although his time in Buffalo has been a long time coming, Fitzpatrick has continued to be a favorite among Bills fans. He watched the AFC playoff victory over the New England Patriots in January, watching from the stands and posing shirtless with icy temperatures and strong winds.
ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg contributed to this report.