NEWSLETTER
Although it already feels like a lifetime ago, it was just this morning that Ryan Fitzpatrick popped up as an alternative QB option for the Chicago Bears (right alongside Andy Dalton) — that is, if some … sexier plans don’t work out (I’m guessing/hoping you know who I’m talking about by now).
But you can cross Fitzpatrick off the list, because he’s reportedly signing a one-year deal with Washington, where he’ll be the presumed starter ahead of Taylor Heinicke.
Former Dolphins’ QB Ryan Fitzpatrick reached agreement with the Washington Football Team on a one-year deal worth $10 million that could grow to $12 million with incentives, per source. Fitzpatrick is expected to head to camp as the starter, with competition from Taylor Heinicke.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 16, 2021
It’s not a substantial guarantee for Fitzpatrick, 38, but Washington was even more hard-up against the cap than the Bears (and they pick one spot ahead of the Bears, too (19th in the 2021 NFL Draft)). So it’s not surprising to see them going with a lower cost option, all things considered.
Washington, by the way, will be Fitzpatrick’s ninth team overall and seventh in his last ten years. As Luis put it earlier, “the well-traveled Harvard product has shown he can steward an offense as a stop-gap. And that he’s done it while simultaneously serving as a mentor for a young quarterback makes his résumé all the more intriguing.”
But if you’re keeping score at home, this now counts as the second quarterback (along with Jameis Winston, who’s returning to New Orleans) that Chicago had reportedly shown interest in *today* before getting scooped up by another team. And while there are still others out there (in free agency, in trade, in the draft), this really brings us back to an important conversation we had this morning:
… if nothing happens before Wednesday, when free agency officially opens, you wonder if the Bears will keep holding out hope [for Russell Wilson], or if they’ll consider the window closed. After all, it isn’t just about the Bears: if the Seahawks are going to move Wilson, then they also need to make a move at quarterback, presuming they aren’t rebuilding. And that would mean this week is huge for them, too …
Fitzpatrick’s deal doesn’t (or shouldn’t) preclude the Bears from doing something bigger, but the QB market is moving and Chicago will want to find the right seat before the music stops.
