Former Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick signed with the Washington Football Team during the off-season. Nobody else I know seems to think this, but I think there’s a possibility that Fitzpatrick could be the MVP of the 2021 season.
The Washington Football Team had a hole at QB going into the 2021 off-season. Rather than signing one in free agency or selecting one in the draft, they opted to re-sign their playoff hero Taylor Heinecke and bring in a veteran QB in Fitzpatrick. After an off-season QB competition, coach Ron Rivera announced that Fitzpatrick would be the week one starter.
Fitzpatrick has an arsenal of weapons like he has never had before. Terry McLaurin and Curtis Samuel are two of the most talented receivers that Fitzpatrick has ever had. The deep threat of McLaurin and underneath threat of Samuel will make life easy for the veteran. Running back Antonio Gibson is a dynamic runner that broke out last season and should elevate his game more with Fitz at the helm. Additionally, the WFT plays teams that deploy some of the worst defenses in the entire NFL. The Cowboys and Eagles twice, Seahawks, Broncos and Chargers are all on WFT’s schedule.
A reason for Fitzpatrick’s lackluster record as a starter, 59-86-1, is that he’s always been on relatively bad teams. The WFT are without a doubt the best defense he has ever had on his team. The WFT forced 23 turnovers, good for seventh in the league. The defense was second in in yards given up, with 4,873 yards and 4.9 yards per play. Their fourth ranked scoring defense gave up only 329 points in 16 games. Their 21 allowed passing touchdowns was the second least and 14 allowed rushing touchdowns was the tenth least. Behind one of the best defenses in the NFL, Fitzpatrick will have the chance to be himself and win games, something he isn’t exactly used to. With the defense keeping the WFT in games, much won’t be asked of Fitzpatrick. Typically, Fitzpatrick would always be leading comebacks due to his team’s defense giving up lots of points.
Since 2018, Fitzpatrick has started 27 games for the Tampa Bay Bucs and Miami Dolphins. In those 27 games, Fitzpatrick had ten games of at least 300 passing yards, with five of those games being over passing yards. Additionally, he’s had four games with at least 4 passing TDs. The gunslinging QB is extremely capable of putting up explosive numbers with the supporting cast around him.
If Fitzpatrick miraculously wins the most prestigious individual award in the NFL, he would be the second oldest MVP winner in NFL history behind Tom Brady, who won the award at 40 years old. It’s not likely, but the gunslinger has shown his potential at points in recent history. In fact, according to Rotowire, Fitzpatrick odds to win the 2021 NFL MVP are 10000-1.
