From his days as a college football player to when he began playing professionally, Ryan Fitzpatrick remained a name to reckon with in the world of American football. He began his professional career with St. Louis Rams in 2005 and he is now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a quarterback.
From his debut in 2005 till now, Ryan has played for Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, New York Jets, before signing a one-year, $3 million contract with Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2017.
Here are other thrilling facts you should know about the multiple award-winning player.
His Bio
There isn’t so much information online about the skilled player’s background, early life, parents, siblings and other personal info but here is what we know. Ryan was actually born in Gilbert, Arizona, on the 24th day of November 1982, as Ryan Joseph Fitzpatrick, he attended Highland HS (Gilbert, AZ) and he is a Harvard graduate.
Career
He began playing while studying in Havard as a Mathematics student, he began as a starter and in two years, he toppled the league’s top list, winning the Asa S. Bushnell Cup and became Harvard’s first QB to rush for 1,000 yards in a career, not just that, he broke the school’s record to become the first quarterback to be drafted since 1981, as well as one out of two Harvard players to be selected overall in the past 20 years.
Out of 250 players chosen in the 2005 draft, Ryan was selected first and just five other prospects were selected after him. He lived up to expectation and garnered some more recognition and proved to all and sundry that he has all it takes to play at the NFL level when he scored a 48/49 during the Wonderlic exam administered by league teams (50 is the max) in the Spring of 2005.
To date, Fitzpatrick’s Wonderlic Test score has remained the highest ever to be achieved among NFL quarterbacks. Another player who had an almost perfect score on the Wonderlic test was Pat McInally who also graduated from Harvard. Pat played with the Cincinnati Bengals his entire career.
After his outstanding records, St. Louis Rams were the first to come for Ryan, drafting him in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He was with the St. Louis Rams until 2007, when he was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals for a seventh-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.
Fitzpatrick made his first appearance for the Bengals on September 28, 2008, in the match against the Cleveland Browns after signing a one-year tender offer with the Bengals in April. During the 2008 NFL season, Ryan was ranked 3rd among quarterbacks in rushing yard, coming behind David Garrard and Tyler Thigpen.
In 2009, he signed a 3-year $7.405 million contract with the Buffalo Bills. His first appearance for the team was in the match against the New York Jets in October of the same year. He remained with the team until 2012.
Despite his many struggles while with the team, Ryan is fondly remembered in Western New York as Bills fans have come to really appreciate him for all his achievements throughout his days at Buffalo.
In 2013, he signed a two-year contract with the Tennessee Titans, replacing Jake Locker for four weeks following an injury he sustained during the third quarter. Fitzpatrick finished 3 of Locker’s 8 passes for 108 yards, including a 77-yard TD pass to Nate Washington, in a 38–13 win against the Jets.
Ryan Fitzpatrick was finally released in March 2014 and replaced by Charlie Whitehurst. Four days after his release, he signed a two-year contract with the Houston Texans. By June, the then-new head coach Bill O’Brien named him the starting quarterback, he was, however, brought down to second on the Houston Texans in November and replaced as a starter by Ryan Mallett.
In 2015, Houston Texans traded Fitzpatrick to the New York Jets for a late-round conditional draft pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, he remained with the team until the expiration of the contract in February 2017.
In May 2017, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed him on a one-year contract worth $3 million. He will remain with the team for another one year as he recently signed a one-year contract extension with them.
Net Worth
Despite not sticking with one team for more than four years at a stretch, Ryan Fitzpatrick has earned himself not less than $51 million.
Also Read: Ryan Serhant Wife, Age, Height, Body Measurements, Biography
Ryan Fitzpatrick – Wife, Family
Fitzpatrick has been happily married to Liza Barber since 2006 and they both have six beautiful children together namely Ruby, Maizy, Zoey, Lucy, Tate and Brady. Liza is not only a fellow Harvard alum as Ryan but also an athlete.
Height
The football sensation is quite tall, he stands at 1.88 m and weighs 102 kg.
Other Facts About Ryan Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick has won several awards including the NFL Rookie of the week, AFC Offensive Player of the week, etc.
His son Brady Fitzpatrick was everywhere on social media back in 2014, after he showed off some mathematical skills on his dad’s postgame press conference.
Neither Liza nor Ryan take off their wedding ring