Ryan Fitzpatrick Got a 6-year, $59 Million Contract with $24 Million Guaranteed

Yes, that Ryan Fitzpatrick, the QB of the Buffalo Bills. Shocking, I know.

Your first inclination is to compare his 6-year, $59 million deal with $24 million guaranteed to what Kevin Kolb and Matt Cassel got.

Kolb: 5-years, $63 million, $21 million guaranteed (in 2011)
Cassel: 6-years, $63 million, $28 million guaranteed (in 2009)

Here’s the problem: Just because Arizona and Kansas City (respectively) grossly overpaid for these guys, it doesn’t mean the Bills should have done the same.

This was a mistake, but I’ll get to that in a moment.

First, let’s start with Fitzpatrick: Nice player. Solid QB. Finished last season strong, and is part of the reason the Bills are off to a 4-2 start. That’s impressive, considering their recent wretched history. Also, he’s got crap receivers to work with (Stevie Johnson is OK).

Let’s examine who Fitzpatrick has carved up this season:
1) 17th rated pass defense in KC
2) 25th rated pass defense in Oakland
3) 32nd rated pass defense in New England

Then, in week four, against the 5th best pass defense in the league (Cincinnati), Fitzpatrick struggled in a loss: 20-of-34 for 199 with no touchdowns. He was serviceable the following week in a win over Philadelphia (21-of-27, 193 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; the Buffalo defense won that game). Against the 18th rated pass defense of the Giants, Fitzpatrick threw two picks, including a costly one in the 4th quarter as the Bills were driving to take the lead.

I know Fitzpatrick was solid last year (3,000 yards passing, 23 TDs, 6.8 YPA) on an awful team. And the potential of losing him as a free agent at season’s end would be a bad look to the fans and a setback to a franchise that appears to be making progress (through six games, anyway).

But to whom could they lose him?

Operating under the assumption that Fitzpatrick wasn’t going anywhere to be a backup, the following teams may have made a move on him at season’s end:

Cleveland Browns
Seattle Seahawks
San Francisco 49ers

I ruled out the Jags, Panthers, Titans, Rams and Vikings because they all have 1st round money tied up in QBs. I left the Colts and Dolphins off the list because they’ll draft in the Top 10 and presumably take QBs. One could make the argument the Browns will take a QB in the Top 10, too. So basically, Seattle and San Francisco were the only two alternatives for Fitzpatrick.

Why shell out that much money when you’re essentially bidding against yourself? They could have easily saved some money and rolled that into the defense – which is opportunistic (12 interceptions), but 3rd worst against the run – during free agency.

And yes, having written this, I expect Fitzpatrick to go 20-for-25 for 299 yards and three scores in a romp over the Redskins today.

aroundtheweb

12 Responses to “Ryan Fitzpatrick Got a 6-year, $59 Million Contract with $24 Million Guaranteed”

sponge-worthy Says:
October 30th, 2011 at 9:42 AM

for 299 yards

c’mon, he gets an extra two points for getting past 300!

Michael Necci Says:
October 30th, 2011 at 9:50 AM

1. He is the 2nd best QB in the AFC East.

2. Contract if front loaded. In year 4 or 5 if Buffalo wants out, they can do it w/ it hurting the cap.

3. Buffalo is like $30-$40 UNDER the cap. They had money to spend.

And did I mention he is the 2nd best QB in the AFC East?

St. Bear Says:
October 30th, 2011 at 10:00 AM

Here’s the problem: Just because Arizona and Kansas City (respectively) grossly overpaid for these guys, it doesn’t mean the Bills should have done the same.

That’s how free agency works. Someone sets the market price, and away we go.

TexansFan Says:
October 30th, 2011 at 10:17 AM

Hes better than Shitchez.

TheRealAC Says:
October 30th, 2011 at 10:48 AM

chan can work miracles with qb’s and an offense. i think they are for real and i don’t think this is a dumb move in the slightest for b-lo.

Jim Harbaugh Scramble Says:
October 30th, 2011 at 10:52 AM

And did I mention he is the 2nd best QB in the AFC East?

he’s better than Brady?

/Sanchez #1

TheRealAC Says:
October 30th, 2011 at 11:03 AM

TBL is just hating because its a division rival.

TheBigLead Says:
October 30th, 2011 at 12:33 PM

AC – no hating at all. LIKE Fitzpatrick. But they overpaid. i get that sometimes you have to do that – ie, Ryan Howard in Philly – but there’s a cap in the NFL and they could be handcuffed. that’s just a guess … we’ll see what happens over the next couple years.

heldover Says:
October 30th, 2011 at 12:40 PM

@TBL: did my comment get blocked in this thread? I made one around 930 am central.

scruffz Says:
October 30th, 2011 at 1:27 PM

I don’t see the problem. He’s going to be the 16th highest paid QB. If he was getting paid like a top 10 QB then I’d see where the issues is. He’s getting paid market value for what he’s brought to Buffalo.

Who he’s put numbers up against is irrelevant to me. The Bills haven’t had a stable QB situation for years, and they’ve finally got a player that gives them just that. Considering they have to re-sign Johnson and (maybe) Jackson, I would think they thought of how much money they have to spend before they pulled the trigger on this deal. What’s the point of making an uneducated guess?

scripty Says:
October 30th, 2011 at 2:04 PM

The Bills operate in an market and not a vaccuum. This whole premise is illogical. Fitzy had them by the balls, performing at position that is hard to replace in a contract year.

scruffz Says:
October 30th, 2011 at 2:16 PM

“The Bills operate in an market and not a vaccuum.”

wut