An Iconic NFL Quarterback Career Comes to an End

The career may be over, but the Fitzmagic lives on! On Thursday, longtime NFL Veteran Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick announced that he will retire from the league after a one-of-a-kind NFL career.

A 7th round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft by the then St. Louis Rams, Fitzpatrick's career was unique to say the least.

First, he attended Harvard, and has some of one of kind math skills in his family.

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Second, although many say it's a meaningless pre-draft assessment, Fitzpatrick nearly aced the Wonderlic test coming out of college as well.

Third, and most notably, he played for 9, (that's right 9!) NFL teams over his 17 years in the league. After having been drafted by St. Louis, Fitzpatrick played for the Bengals, Bills, Titans, Texans, Jets, Bucs, Dolphins, and Commanders.

Over that time, he never made a Pro Bowl, but was a quality player that was popular with his teammates. Many will remember him stealing DeSean Jackson's outfit while in Tampa Bay.

In his career, the gunslinger tossed 223 touchdowns to 169 interceptions, and had 34,990 yards passing. Only 3 of his 17 seasons ended with a winning record in games in which he started, but he was tasked with leading some bad teams to put it lightly.

Despite the tough numbers by modern standards, the Harvard product compares well to some of the elite qbs of yesteryear, having more career yards and touchdowns than Troy Aikman and Bart Starr to name a few.

It's rare to find mediocre or even average players that are adored by fans across the NFL. Perhaps it was the beard, the style, or the attitude. Maybe it was the dependability. But more than anything else, fans will miss Fitzpatrick's can do attitude in a tough spot, and his AUTHENTICITY.

You'll be missed Fitzmagic!

Sources: CBS Sports, WonderlicTestPractice, Jordan Schultz Twitter and Pro Football Reference