Ryan Fitzpatrick, whose NFL emergence started with memorable rally vs. Texans, retires

Ryan Fitzpatrick, the hirstute journeyman quarterback who was the Texans’ starter for one season during a career that saw him play for nine teams, is retiring from the NFL according to multiple reports Thursday.

Fitzpatrick spent last season with the Washington Football Team (now the Commanders), starting the only game he appeared in. According to the New York Post, the 39-year-old Harvard alumnus is in talks with Amazon Prime to be a studio analyst for its streaming package of Thursday night games that begins this fall.

He ended his career with a 59-87-1 record with 147 starts in 166 games, 34,990 yards passing, 223 touchdowns to 169 interceptions and an 82.3 passer rating.

Fitzpatrick joined the Texans as a free agent for the 2014 season, coach Bill O’Brien’s first in Houston. Fitzpatrick started the Texans’ first nine games before being benched in favor of Ryan Mallett. After Mallett was injured two weeks later, Fitzpatrick returned to the starter’s role for three more weeks before his season ended following a broken leg suffered during a loss at Indianapolis.

He still holds the Texans’ single-game record for touchdown passes, throwing six in a home win over Tennessee on Nov. 30, 2014. The Texans traded Fitzpatrick to the Jets the following offseason for a conditional seventh-round draft pick as the team’s quarterback carousel under O’Brien continued with Brian Hoyer replacing Fitzpatrick as the starter.

Fitzpatrick, recognizable around the NFL for his lush facial hair, also played for the Rams, Bengals, Bills, Titans, Buccaneers and Dolphins. 

The Texans also played a role in Fitzpatrick getting on the NFL map. As a third-string rookie who’d yet to take a regular-season snap for the then St. Louis-based Rams in 2005, he came off the bench to rally the Rams from a 24-3 halftime deficit against the Texans to a 33-27 win in overtime that Nov. 27 at NRG Stadium.

Fitzpatrick hit Kevin Curtis for the winning 56-yard touchdown pass with 8:46 left in OT to compete a stunning comeback that included overcoming a 10-point deficit with less than 30 seconds left in regulation. With 26 seconds left, Fitzpatrick connected with Isaac Bruce for a 43-yard touchdown to draw within three points.

The Rams then recovered the ensuing onside kick and Fitzpatrick found Torry Holt to get within field-goal range for Jeff Wilkins’ 47-yard boot to force overtime.

“I’ve been in the league for 20 years, and I don’t know if I’ve had a game like this,” coach Dom Capers said after the game that dropped the Texans to an NFL-worst 1-10. 

Capers was fired after the season and didn’t become a head coach again.

But for Fitzpatrick, it was just the start of an NFL odyssey.

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