Washington Football Team Depth Chart: Breaking down the QB room for 2021
Washington Football Team starting QB: Ryan Fitzpatrick
The Washington Football Team signed Ryan Fitzpatrick to a one-year deal during the offseason. The move isn’t a sexy one, but Fitzpatrick will provide the team with a solid bridge option at the quarterback spot.
He’s also better than what the team had at the position last year. He’s healthier than Smith was last year and has more starting experience than the other quarterbacks on Washington’s roster. That should allow the 39-year-old to serve as an upgrade for the team, especially considering the supporting cast surrounding Fitzpatrick.
Throughout his career, Fitzpatrick has been a solid starter and in recent years, he has greatly improved his accuracy. In his last three seasons, he has a 64.8 percent completion rate and has averaged 3,993 passing yards and 25 TDs per 16 games played.
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Fitzpatrick is a gunslinger. He takes downfield chances and helps his offense to score a lot of points. He isn’t afraid to look for the big play, and that’s something that will help Washington.
Under Smith and Haskins for most of last season, the team didn’t take many chances downfield. As such, their offense sputtered at times. With Fitzpatrick, that won’t happen and he may have a shot to unlock the deep-speed potential of the team’s receiving corps, including Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, and Dyami Brown.
Of course, Fitzpatrick does come with some warts. He has struggled with turnovers at times during his career and is prone to one or so games per year where he completely implodes and tosses countless interceptions. That’s part of why he hasn’t consistently been a starting QB and has instead been relied on as a solid backup or occasional bridge quarterback.
Also, Fitzpatrick has only posted a winning record in three of the 14 seasons in which he has started. That does say something about the talent, or lack thereof, surrounding him at his various stops, but some of it does fall on him and his inability to win games. That will need to change if Washington wants to repeat as division titles.
This may well be the best supporting cast that Fitzpatrick has worked with, especially the defensive unit he’s being paired with. Because of the defense’s ability to support the offense, he should have a chance to succeed.
And while his counterparts may have more upside, Fitzpatrick was brought in to be the team’s starter. If he struggles or if another player progresses, he may be replaced, but until that happens, pencil him in as the team’s starter.