Veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has reached an agreement with the Washington Football Team on a $ 10 million one-year contract, which could reach $ 12 million with incentives, a source told ESPN Adam Schefter on Monday. .
Fitzpatrick is expected to go to camp as a starter, the source said, with competition from Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen.
Washington knew it would struggle to add a long-term solution to the quarterback this off-season, but it also realized that it could fight for another NFC East title. Fitzpatrick provides the team with someone who can play at a solid level for a cheaper contract, allowing the WFT to build the rest of its squad on the attack.
Washington needs to add more help on the wide receiver – one of its main goals this off-season – and particularly wants to add more speed to the position.
Fitzpatrick would be the organization’s 32nd quarterback since winning the Super Bowl after the 1991 season. Washington started with three defenders last season: Allen, Dwayne Haskins and Alex Smith. He launched Haskins before the end of the season and earlier this month left Smith.
Fitzpatrick, 38, is entering his 17th NFL season. He is the only defender in NFL history to start and perform touchdowns with eight different teams. Now, he will have a chance to do this for a ninth.
Fitzpatrick is the definitive newsboy, and he loves the role – especially for the past two seasons, when he was the bridge holder for the Miami Dolphins. Although he is year after year at this point in his career, Fitzpatrick told ESPN in February that it was a “very easy” decision to return to play in 2021.
He played an important role in guiding the Dolphins from a team rebuilt to one of the best NFL stories in 2020, when Miami jumped from five wins to a 10-6 record. In 2019, Fitzpatrick beat Josh Rosen in an open competition to become the Dolphins starter for a 5-11 season, when many considered the team to be tanking early on. In 2020, Fitzpatrick started the season again as a starter, as the self-proclaimed “replacement” and mentor to newcomer Tua Tagovailoa.
Fitzpatrick started seven games in 2020, completing 68.5% of his passes and launching for 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also had 76.9 CBR and was the undisputed leader of the Dolphins.
In true Fitzpatrick style, his last Dolphins moment was to get off the bench and lead the team to a comeback victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. He tested positive for COVID-19 just a few days later, making him ineligible for the season-ending defeat to Buffalo Bills.
Fitzpatrick is ranked 10th among active defenders, with 34,977 passing yards and has launched 223 touchdowns with 169 interceptions in his career.
Information from ESPN’s John Keim and Cameron Wolfe was used in this report.