Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick: What is the future of the dynamic player? – NFL Feature
It seems that quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick will again fail to end the playoff drought for the Buffalo Bills who have not yet qualified for the postseason since the start of the new millennium.
However, the more important question is: What is in the offing for the player after going through another season without much success.
Fitzpatrick is tied to Bills for a hefty six-year, $59 million contract which he got halfway through the 2011 season, but ever since he got the long-term deal, the player has not been able to lift the game so as to take the team forward to the postseason.
Although Fitzpatrick started the 2011 season on a high, he failed to be consistent and his performance got down in the second half of the season.
However, things went from bad to worse in the 2012 season as the quarterback continued to throw turnovers which have been the biggest problem for him ever since he was drafted by St. Louis Rams in 2005.
Till Week 12 of the 2012 season, Fitzpatrick had already thrown away 12 interceptions and looked on course to beat the numbers he put up last year.
The quarterback has been recently getting agitated by the number of voices coming from the front office for the need of a franchise quarterback.
During a recent interview, Bills general manager Buddy Nix clearly showed his desire to sign a franchise player during next year’s draft. Nix said:
“Listen, we have said from Day 1, that we want to draft a good, young quarterback. I don’t want to leave here without a franchise guy for the future in place. I have not said that before, but I’m saying it now because it’s a fact.”
There is no doubt that Bills head coach Chan Gailey has faith in Fitzpatrick and how he deals with things on the field.
The reason behind it might be the fact that Gailey understands that the quarterback does not have the required weapons around him to reach the end zone frequently. Praising the smartness of Fitzpatrick on the field, Gailey once said:
“I ask his opinion and we have a good give-and-take about what we need to do. He sees his picture extremely well, and I try to add the big picture thought process to it. Between the two of us, hopefully, we come up with something that is good enough to win
with.”
The only top-notch wide receiver in the team is Stevie Johnson who has been in and out of the team this season due to injuries.
Moreover, the team is highly dependent on the running game with two high class running backs C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson sharing the snaps along with each other.
This means that Fitzpatrick has little chance to thrive on passing game which was his priority in previous years.
One may think that Fitzpatrick still has a few years with Bills because of his current contract and the fact that there might not be top draft class of quarterbacks next year as it was this year.
Disclaimer: The views do not represent editorial policy of bettor.com
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