New Buccaneers quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick met with the media for the first time at Tuesday’s OTA session. As initially reported, Fitzpatrick provided a quote that generated plenty of criticism of the backup-turned-starter-turned-backup-turned-starter-turned-backup-turned-starter-turned-backup.
From Roy Cummings of FloridaFootballToday.com, Fitzpatrick said this regarding the loss of his job with the Jets: "[I]t’s a game of musical chairs and they pulled the chair out from under me.” The full quote creates a much different impression regarding whether Fitzpatrick was blaming anyone but himself for no longer being the starter in New York.
Asked whether it was difficult for Fitzpatrick when he realized that he would not be signing with a new team as the opening-day starter, Fitzpatrick said this, via quotes distributed by the team: “I mean, it’s tough, but I’ve been through that before. When I got cut in Buffalo in 2012, I signed on in Tennessee as a backup. The year after that I signed on in Houston as sort of a quarterback competition, and then got traded to the Jets as a backup. I started that 2015 campaign as the backup to Geno [Smith].
“It was a new team, new environment for me and I had to step up when my number was called. It’s the harsh reality of the NFL: There are [only] so many jobs that are available. I can’t complain about it. Last year I was the starter, and if you play well as the starter you continue to play. I didn’t play well and so I lost the game of musical chairs. They pulled my chair out from under me. But I’m happy to be here, and I do just enjoy football. I enjoy the Xs and Os and just the day-to-day interaction. I’m really happy to be in this role and to be here.”
While he did indeed say “they pulled my chair out from under me,” Fitzpatrick also said that he “didn’t play well.” And he didn’t.
And he knows it. As does everyone else.