Ryan Fitzpatrick fixes the Buccaneers’ backup quarterback issues

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, which fixes their issues at backup quarterback.

Fitzpatrick has been in the NFL for twelve seasons, having been the primary starter for the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans and New York Jets the past nine season (in that order).

Fitzpatrick actually produced some pretty decent stats in that time, completing 59.7% of his passes for 25,888 yards, 166 touchdowns and 133 interceptions. That’s not dominant by any means, but it’s really good for a backup and serviceable for a starting quarterback.

Fitzpatrick isn’t actually a good starter, but he’s pretty okay overall. He’s athletic, he can run, he has a quick release and he can mostly run an offense. He’s pretty scattershot at times, though, and you shouldn’t ask him to run a deep passing offense—but he’s serviceable and certainly good enough as a backup.

Prior to signing Fitzpatrick, the Bucs had the worst backup quarterback situation in the entire NFL, if you ask Eric Single over at Sports Illustrated at least. That’s now solved, with Ryan Griffin (no NFL snaps) once again relegated to number three on the depth chart and Sean Renfree (virtually no NFL snaps) at number four.

According to Ian Rapoport, Fitzpatrick’s deal is pretty cheap: one year for $3 million. For that price, the Bucs get to not be in complete meltdown in case Jameis Winston suffers some kind of injury. Just, y’know, partial meltdown.

Incidentally, the fact that the Bucs got him to sign that deal makes the New York Jets’ decision to let him walk look pretty weird. They’re stuck with Josh McCown now. Good luck with that.