Ryan Fitzpatrick Not ‘Picky,’ Wouldn’t Mind Playing For Patriots

Matthew Stafford reportedly was willing to be traded to any team except the New England Patriots.

Ryan Fitzpatrick has no such reservations.

During an appearance Tuesday on “The Pat McAfee Show,” the soon-to-be free agent quarterback was asked whether he, like Stafford, has New England on his no-go list. (The Detroit Lions traded Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday.)

“I love Matt Stafford,” Fitzpatrick replied. “I don’t know him real well as a guy, but as a player, watching him, I’m real excited to see what happens with him on the Rams.

“But no. For me, I can’t be as picky as Matt Stafford.”

Fitzpatrick, who already has played for each of the other three AFC East teams, could be an option for the Patriots this offseason if they choose to sign a veteran bridge QB to pair with a young signal-caller. New England fielded one of the NFL’s worst passing attacks in 2020 with Cam Newton at the helm.

With the March 17 start of free agency still more than a month away, the 38-year-old Harvard product said he hasn’t put much thought into his next move.

“That stuff doesn’t really happen until March,” Fitzpatrick said, “so what I’ve learned over the years is not to sit and worry about it or put too much time into it until that March date rolls around.”

Fitzpatrick spent the last two seasons with the Miami Dolphins, starting the first six games of 2020 before being replaced by rookie Tua Tagovailoa. Despite that controversial midseason benching, the journeyman gunslinger is coming off one of his better statistical seasons, setting career highs in completion percentage (68.5 percent) and QBR (77.1) and posting his third-best yards-per-attempt average (7.8) over nine appearances.

Fitzpatrick has started 146 games for eight teams since entering the NFL in 2005.