Ryan Fitzpatrick was joined in the huddle by players like Marshall Faulk, Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce and sacked by Sean Taylor during his first NFL start.
That’s a long way of saying that Fitzpatrick has been around for a while. He went on to start two more games for the Rams in 2005 and went on to start 123 more games for six other teams before landing with the Dolphins this offseason.
Barring an unforeseen calamity, Fitzpatrick will start against the Ravens this weekend and become the first quarterback to make starts for eight different teams during his career. Fitzpatrick said on Wednesday that he’s relishing his status as the ultimate journeyman and that he thinks that experience makes him the right man to pilot a rebuilding team in Miami.
“You know it is [rewarding],” Fitzpatrick said, via the team’s website. “It’s something that’s never been done before. Just in terms of who I am and the career I’ve had and the different places I’ve been, this means a lot to me. I think being able to do it here with a younger group where it’s going to rely so much on communication and I’ve got to make sure I’m at my best on every single play, whether it’s during the play or before at the line of scrimmage. I’m going to put a lot on myself this week to make sure everything goes smoothly. I think, in terms of me being in this spot and this place right now, I think my career has led me to this and I fit well in the role I’m being asked to play right now.”
It’s been a long and winding road that’s taken Fitzpatrick from St. Louis in 2005 to Miami in 2019 and he’s embracing it even as others are bracing for a rough year for the Dolphins.
