Could Washington QB Ryan Fitzpatrick leave NFL for broadcasting job?

The Washington Football Team‘s season came off the rails as soon as Ryan Fitzpatrick, who signed with the club on a $10 million contract last offseason, was left writhing in pain on his backside in the second quarter of Week 1.

While Taylor Heinicke did his best to replace Fitzpatrick, it ultimately became clear why he never previously garnered consideration as an NFL starter.

Getting back to Fitzpatrick, he was diagnosed with a hip subluxation and never played another down for Washington. Despite widespread believe that he could return after the bye, the hip took longer than expected to deal.

Fitz underwent a follow-up MRI in November, nearly two months removed from when the injury occurred, and while it didn’t reveal a setback, it showed next to no progress. A few weeks later, he underwent season-ending surgery.

It’s a brutal turn of events for Fitzpatrick, who could struggle to generate interest as a starter entering his age-40 season following the injury.

We have not a clue if he’s planning on retiring, but CBS play-by-play man Jim Nantz stoked the broadcasting rumors this week.

Could Washington quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick leave the NFL for a broadcasting job?

Nantz appeared on the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast this week and Fitzpatrick’s name got brought up in conversation. How? Well, the CBS broadcaster noted that his favorite thing from Wild Card Weekend was seeing the veteran quarterback sitting with Bills fans during their win over the Patriots.

"“What he did was one of the great validations for us fans that these guys actually care,” Nantz said. “We always want them to be one of us and we know they are getting paid a lot of money to play these games and play for our team, but do they really care? What does it mean to them?”"

Fitzpatrick cares. We already knew that, but the notion was punctuated after photos/videos of him and random Bills fans braving Orchard Park’s temperatures (that drifted around zero degrees) without shirts sent social media ablaze.

It’s that authenticity, and pure love for the game, that has Nantz convinced Fitzpatrick would make a seamless transition to the broadcast booth.

"“I don’t know what his second act is going to be, but I am going to predict it’s going to be huge,” Nantz continued.“There’s something about him. I’ve gotten to know him virtually every stop along the way in his NFL career and maybe he’s not even finished playing, but he wasn’t doing that to try to generate attention. He probably didn’t know the guy who shot that was going to post it. That’s Ryan Fitzpatrick. He has always had a way with a sense of humor and a way with phrasing things.”“I’ve always said that is a guy that will be, if he wants to be, a great piece of television talent down the road. That’s there if he wants it. I would definitely make a run at him if somebody ever asked me. Maybe there’s something else he wants to do, but the thing is he is very real and that is a quality that’s worth a lot.”"

Nantz makes some salient points here.

At 39 years old and coming off major hip surgery, you can’t help but wonder if the Fitzmagic has run its course as a starter in the NFL. There will always be teams on the prowl for a bridge option and he could offer valuable mentorship as a backup, but it feels like the Harvard alum’s engine is starting to run out of steam.

What we do know, though, is that Fitzpatrick’s knowledge for the game and overall charisma are the traits of a great color analyst. Whether that’s in a broadcast booth or studio remains to be seen, but Nantz seems to be barking up the right tree.