Biography

BIOGRAPHY

Ryan Joseph Fitzpatrick was born on born November 24, 1982, in Gilbert, Arizona. He is a quarterback in the NFL. 

Fitzpatrick attended Harvard where he studied economics. He was the backup quarterback for Neil Rose.  In 2001, he amassed deep passing yards and a pair of touchdowns. He followed that in 2002 by collecting 1,155 yards, eight touchdowns, with no interceptions, and ran for 5 scores and 523 yards. Fitzpatrick took over the starting job in 2003, finishing his junior campaign with 1,770 yards, 16 touchdowns with 8 interceptions in seven games, and ran for 430 yards and six rushing touchdowns. In 2004, Fitzpatrick was named the Ivy League Player of the Year, as he accumulated 1,986 yards with 13 touchdowns with 6 interceptions, and ranking second on the team with 448 rushing yards and 5 scores. He also led Harvard to a 10–0 record, thus winning the Ivy League Championship. Fitzpatrick connected on 384 of 641 passes for 5,234 yards, 39 touchdowns, and 21 interceptions, and ranking him second on Harvard's career list for pass completions, touchdowns, yards passing and pass completion percentage only behind Neil Rose.

Before the 2005 NFL Draft, Fitzpatrick took the Wonderlic Test, scoring 48 out of 50 in nine minutes which was the highest Wonderlic Test score ever achieved among NFL quarterbacks. Fitzpatrick was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft with the 250th overall pick, and making his NFL debut on November 27, 2005. In week 11, Fitzpatrick replaced Jamie Martin due to injury in the second quarter against the Houston Texans and led the Rams from a 24-3 halftime score to a 33-27 win in overtime, where he threw for 310 yards and 3 touchdowns. Thanks to his effort, he earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week, and this made him one of only seven players who passed for more than 300 yards in their NFL debut. On September 1, 2007, Fitzpatrick was traded to the Bengals for a seventh-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. 

Fitzpatrick made his first Bengals start on September 28, 2008, against the Cleveland Browns. He earned the starting job in week 3 to replace Carson Palmer due to an injury. ranked third in rushing yards among quarterbacks with 304, finishing behind Tyler Thigpen and David Garrard. On February 27, 2009, Fitzpatrick signed with the Buffalo Bills on a 3-year contract. He made his first appearance on October 18, 2009, against the New York Jets. On November 18, 2009, he was named the starting quarterback of the Buffalo Bills. In Week 11 of the 2009 season in a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Fitzpatrick threw a 98-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Owens, the longest touchdown reception and pass for both Owens and Fitzpatrick, also setting the team record for the longest touchdown pass. Fitzpatrick finished the 2009 season with 1,422 passing yards, nine touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Fitzpatrick had a breakout season in 2010, recording at least one touchdown pass in 13 consecutive games and becoming the first Bills quarterback to pass for at least 3,000 yards in a season.

During the second week of the 2011 season, Fitzpatrick led the Bills to touchdown drives on five straight possessions in the second half to rally past the Oakland Raiders. It was the first time in league history a team had scored offensive touchdowns on five straight possessions in the second half, making him the AFC Offensive Player of the Month for September. On October 28, 2011, Fitzpatrick signed a six-year contract extension with the Bills.  Fitzpatrick finished the 2011 season with 3,832 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 23 interceptions. Fitzpatrick returned as the Bills' starter during the 2012 season, throwing for 3,400 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. Fitzpatrick was released by the Buffalo Bills on March 12, 2013. On March 18, 2013, Fitzpatrick signed a two-year contract with the Tennessee Titans. Fitzpatrick played in 11 games and started 9 of them, finishing the season with a 3–6 record as the starting quarterback with a record of 2,454 yards with 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He then was released on March 14, 2014. 

On March 18, 2014, Fitzpatrick signed a two-year contract with the Houston Texans and was named the starting quarterback on June 17. On November 30, Fitzpatrick threw for a franchise-record six touchdowns and 358 yards with no interceptions and a 147.5 passer rating, earning the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his effort against the Titans. Fitzpatrick ended the 2014 season throwing for 2,483 yards with 17 touchdowns and 8 interceptions for a then career-high 95.3 passer rating. On March 11, 2015, Fitzpatrick was traded to the New York Jets for a late-round conditional draft pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. On September 13, Fitzpatrick made his first appearance as a jet against the Cleveland Browns, where he threw for 179 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the 31–10 victory. Fitzpatrick earned the AFC Offensive Player of the Week against the Tennessee Titans in week 14, and against the New England Patriots in week 16. This was Fitzpatrick's ninth win of the season as a starter, securing his first winning season as a starting quarterback. Fitzpatrick finished with his best year as a pro with 3,905 passing yards and 31 passing touchdowns along with 15 interceptions. 

July 27, 2016, Fitzpatrick signed a one year contract with the Buffalo Bills. In 14 games of 2016, Fitzpatrick finished with 2,710 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions, and on February 15, 2017, he became a free agent. On May 19, 2017, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Fitzpatrick to a one-year deal. He made his first appearance as a Bucc in week six against the Arizona Cardinals, completing 22 of 32 passes for 290 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Fitzpatrick ended the 2017 season with 1,103 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and three interceptions. On March 9, 2018, Fitzpatrick signed a one-year contract extension with the Buccaneers. Fitzpatrick started the season playing as a starter, in which in the first 3 games, he recorded a total of 1,230 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions, earning the NFC Offensive Player of the Week on week 1 and 2. He became the first player in NFL history to have three consecutive games with at least 400 passing yards. Fitzpatrick finished the season with 2,366 passing yards, 17 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and a career-high passer rating of 100.4, while also rushing for 152 yards and 2 touchdowns. On March 18, 2019, the Miami Dolphins signed Fitzpatrick to a two-year contract.

Fitzpatrick signed a one-year contract with the Washington Football Team on March 18, 2021.

Ryan retired from the NFL on June 2nd, 2022.