Ryan Joseph Fitzpatrick (born November 24, 1982 in Gilbert, Arizona) is an American Football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Harvard.

Fitzpatrick has also played for the Cincinnati Bengals.

[edit] Professional career

[edit] Pre-draft

As is the case for most incoming NFL rookies, Fitzpatrick took the Wonderlic Test. Highly divergent reports about his performance have appeared in the media. A draft commentary on the NFL's official website reported that he made a perfect score, while setting a speed record by completing the exam in nine minutes.^[1] According to a The Wall Street Journal report that appeared in the September 30, 2005 edition, Fitzpatrick scored a 48 on the exam, not a 50; this would still be considered an exceptionally high score, and the claim that he completed the test in nine minutes is accurate. While his actual score is unknown, he certainly did not record a perfect score, as he has been quoted admitting he left at least one question blank.^[2] As the Wonderlic score is the number of correct answers to 50 questions, the best he could have scored would be a 49.

The only player to earn a verified perfect score on the Wonderlic test was also a Harvard graduate: wide receiver/punter Pat McInally, who played his entire career with the Cincinnati Bengals.^[3]

[edit] St. Louis Rams

Fitzpatrick played his first NFL game on November 27, 2005. Coming into the game in the second quarter against the Houston Texans to replace an injured Jamie Martin, Fitzpatrick led the Rams from a 24-3 halftime deficit to a 33-27 overtime win, throwing for 310 yards and three touchdowns. This made Fitzpatrick one of only five players who passed for 300 yards in their NFL debut. The others were Otto Graham, 346 yards (1950); Ed Rubbert, 334 (a replacement player for the Washington Redskins during the 1987 strike); Mark Rypien, 303 (1988), and Peyton Manning, 302 (1998).

[edit] Cincinnati Bengals

On September 1, 2007, Fitzpatrick was traded to the Bengals for a seventh-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.^[4]

A restricted free agent in the 2008 offseason, Fitzpatrick signed his one-year tender offer from the Bengals on April 17. Due to an injury to starting quarterback Carson Palmer, Fitzpatrick made his first Bengals start on September 28, 2008 against the Cleveland Browns. Fitzpatrick was not only the leading passer, but also the leading rusher in the Bengals' 20-12 loss. With Carson Palmer sitting out the game on October 12, 2008, Fitzpatrick got the start against the New York Jets, and every other game that season.

During the 2008 NFL season, Fitzpatrick finished third in rushing yards among quarterbacks.

[edit] Buffalo Bills

Fitzpatrick signed with the Buffalo Bills on February 27, 2009. He made his first appearance on October 18th, 2009 against the New York Jets when starter Trent Edwards went down with an injury, leading the Bills to a 16-13 overtime win, while throwing for 116 yards with one touchdown and one interception. On November 18th, 2009 he was named the starting quarterback of the Buffalo Bills by interim head coach Perry Fewell who took over the coaching duties after former coach Dick Jauron was fired.^[5]

[edit] Personal

Fitzpatrick is married to Liza Barber, former captain of the Harvard Women's Soccer team^[6], The couple has two sons, Brady Joseph and Tate Ryan. ^[7]

Fitzpatrick's younger brother Shaun is the starting tight end for Northern Arizona University^[8] and was recently voted Honorable Mention All American Tight End and All Big Sky Conference.

[edit] References

http://games.espn.go.com/flb/scoreboard?leagueId=140571&scoringPeriodId=23

[edit] External links

• Cincinnati Bengals bio
• Buffalo Bills bio
• http://games.espn.go.com/flb/scoreboard?leagueId=140571&scoringPeriodId=23