Not only does Ryan Fitzpatrick have enough candles on his own birthday cake to be a fire hazard, he has enough kids that the cake itself has become an occupational hazard.
The Dolphins list the 36-year-old Fitzpatrick at 6-foot-2 and 223 pounds, but that might have been a generous estimate based on his first appearance at the team’s minicamp.
Via Hal Habib of the Palm Beach Post, Fitzpatrick joked that: “I think two weeks ago I was in peak offseason form.”
As is his custom, the veteran quarterback had a rational explanation for any extra pounds he might be carrying.
“The thing with me is I have seven kids, so in January we have three birthdays,” Fitzpatrick said. “We’ve got a family birthday party, which includes cake, and then we’ve got a friends’ birthday party, which includes cake. So, that’s six times in January.
“We’ve got three birthdays in March — March 1, March 6 and March 11 – which again, that’s a tough stretch. That’s cake six out of 10 or 11 days. . . . Then we’ve got an April birthday. So, it doesn’t slow down.”
Now with the pace of birthdays slowing — and a job to do — Fitzpatrick said he’d be fine soon.
“But now that the birthdays are behind me,” he said. “And I think I’m going to try to go from peak offseason form maybe down to peak in-season form.
“I’ll be OK.”
A few extra pounds on their place-holder quarterback won’t be the thing that makes or breaks the Dolphins’ season, but having someone around who can keep the atmosphere light won’t hurt as they embark on what could be a difficult season.