Jacksonville Jaguars: Ryan Fitzpatrick is best QB mentor in free agency
![TAMPA, FL - SEPTEMBER 24: Football fans hold up large heads of quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick #14 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before the start of a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 24, 2018 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images) TAMPA, FL - SEPTEMBER 24: Football fans hold up large heads of quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick #14 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before the start of a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 24, 2018 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Fblackandteal-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fgetty-images-2F2017-2F07-2F1039562434-850x560-73b6a419c8d09983ca5c861b2b34c42eb1472318b6e294554b3fc89b59a0a364.jpg)
Fitzpatrick can start and win games for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Ryan Fitzpatrick is by no means a top-echelon quarterback. However, he can still sling the pigskin. Over his two-year stint with the Phins, he went 494-of-769 for 5,620 yards with 33 touchdowns and 21 interceptions with a 64.2 completion percentage. While this aren’t earth-shattering numbers, they are still good enough to win a few football games, something the Jaguars had a hard time doing in 2020.
Fitzmagic isn’t a young bird anymore but he can still win close games. If you watched the Dolphins’ 2020 Week 16 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders, you might’ve seen him pull a proverbial rabbit out of his hat and and throw a last-minute pass that set up Miami’s winning field goal.
Fitzpatrick’s no-look pass may not be as flashy as Patrick Mahomes’, but still got the job done and helped the Phins get a ‘W’. Meanwhile, Alex Smith is coming off a devasting leg injury and as admirable as his return is, he isn’t the player he was when he earned back-to-back Pro Bowl nods in 2016 and 2017.
In fact, the only reason Smith started games for the Washington Football Team was because they had nobody else to turn and had they had more stability at the quarterback position, the Utah product wouldn’t have seen the field. Both Smith and Fitzpatrick have stated they want the chance to start, but this point of their respective careers, the latter may be a better bet to win football games.