The Buffalo Bills made a major personnel move on Tuesday, releasing quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick after a disappointing 2012 season that saw the team finish 6-10 and in the bottom of the AFC East.
The Bills wanted to free up the salary cap space and they also felt that Fitzpatrick had not been playing up the level of the six-year, $59 million contract he signed in 2011 after leading the team to a 5-2 start. After being released by the Bills, Fitzpatrick becomes one of the most experienced quarterbacks on the free agent market and could be in line for a backup position in Oakland, New Orleans or Tampa Bay.
According to NFL.com, the Bills released Fitzpatrick just ahead of a $3 million bonus that he was due to get on Wednesday and the $10 million in salary he would make next season. Making things even more awkward, general manager Buddy Nix was caught in a telephone conversation with Tampa Bay general manager Mark Dominik that was recorded and released by pranksters.
Nix basically foretold what would happen on Tuesday, saying: ""We're still struggling here with our quarterback," Nix said. "We're not really struggling--he's going to have to do something, or we'll have to ... We just can't afford to pay that kind of money for a guy who's fighting for probably a backup job."
Fitzpatrick is the most experienced free agent quarterback now and is probably the best one after Matt Cassel signed with the Minnesota Vikings. Reports say that Cassel will have a chance to start if Christian Ponder struggles and that takes another solid arm off the market. Cassel went just 1-7 last season on a bad Kansas City team and he could have better results with a team that has a player like Adrian Peterson. Fitzpatrick could find himself competing on other teams depending on the situation, including in Jacksonville or Cleveland.
Now Fitzpatrick will have a chance at that backup job and he spoke to WGR-550 in Buffalo about his time with the team and his release, as well as the Nix phone call. Fitzpatrick said that the Bills had discussions with him about restructuring his contract, but said that the two sides couldn't come to an agreement.
"I thought that was terrible for Buddy, for him to be put in that position," Fitzpatrick told WGR-AM. "To have a private conversation with someone where you thought was a private conversation, and everything gets publicized and put on Deadspin and all that, that's not fair to him. That was my initial reaction. I felt bad (for) him. With that being said, you don't want to hear that stuff about yourself. I had plenty of conversations with Buddy in the last few weeks, and he is a guy that has always given it to me straight. He tells me how it is and what he thinks of me and all that stuff, and that's one of the things that I really appreciate about the guy and will always appreciate about him."
The Oakland Raiders and New Orleans Saints could be an option for Fitzpatrick, as both teams need backup quarterbacks. The Saints allowed Chase Daniel to sign with the Chiefs, while the Raiders may be trading Carson Palmer to allow Terrelle Pryor to start. Fitzpatrick had a disappointing year after throwing 16 interceptions, but he has proven to be a capable quarterback in the NFL and could be a valuable addition.
Fitzpatrick spoke about having to leave Buffalo, saying: "It stinks. I really did enjoy being a Buffalo Bill, and unfortunately we couldn't get anything worked out."
Oakland went 4-12 last season and ranked 28th in the league in rushing yards per game. Palmer threw for a lot of yards and the team ranked eighth in passing, but that was mostly due to the team having to come from behind for most of the year, including when they lost eight of their last nine games of the year.
