After spending the 2020 season serving as the bridge quarterback to first-round pick Tua Tagovailoa, Ryan Fitzpatrick has moved on to his next opportunity. The veteran signal-caller signed a one-year deal with the Washington Football Team, positioning him as the front-runner to start for the reigning NFC East champions this upcoming season.
Ryan Fitzpatrick signing: Fantasy football impact
High-variance play has long characterized Fitzpatrick’s career. He opened the 2020 season scoring less than 10 points in DraftKing’s leagues before averaging 27.4 over the subsequent four games. Fitzpatrick went on to average just 13.2 points over his final four starts.
That inconsistency doesn’t appear likely to change in Washington if Fitzpatrick wins the job. The offense does feature some legitimate weapons such as wideout Terry McLaurin, newly signed Curtis Samuel, do-it-all tailback Antonio Gibson, and tight end Logan Thomas, but a solid supporting cast (or lack of one) hasn’t affected Fitzpatrick’s week-to-week reliability in the past.
But while Fitzpatrick might not make for more than an injury or bye-week replacement in fantasy, his arrival should benefit some of Washington’s skill-position players. McLaurin seems well-positioned to become a top-end fantasy wideout with Fitzpatrick under center, Samuel will have big upside, but could lack consistency, while Thomas has a chance to build on last year’s breakout (see Mike Gesicki’s numbers with Fitzpatrick). Fitzpatrick’s age (39 in November) also doesn’t prevent the team from drafting a quarterback later this offseason.