Ranking the Top 5 Bills quarterbacks of all time
By Ryan Heckman
4. Ryan Fitzpatrick
The bearded one comes in at number four on this list, but remains number one in many of our hearts. Although Ryan Fitzpatrick was yet another example of a quarterback that Buffalo didn't put much of a team around, he did the best he could with what he had.
Fitzpatrick played for the Bills from 2009-2012 and started a total of 53 games. A Harvard product, Fitzpatrick was drafted in the seventh round back in 2005 by the St. Louis Rams. He spent two seasons with the Rams, followed by two seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, before joining Buffalo in 2009.
"Fitzmagic" ended his Bills career with 11,654 passing yards, 80 touchdowns and 64 interceptions. A fun fact about Fitzpatrick? He is tied for the longest pass in Bills history with a 98-yarder. Passing yardage seemed to be the name of the game for Fitzpatrick, who was always one ready to let it fly. He sits 34th on the NFL's all-time passing yardage leaderboard.
Over his 17 seasons in the league, Fitzpatrick was placed on some pretty bad teams. He only finished with a winning record twice, once with the New York Jets back in 2015 (10-6) and then again with the Miami Dolphins in 2020, when he went 4-3.
To this day, Fitzpatrick will gush about his love for Buffalo:
"I don't know that I've ever felt more at home in a stadium or with a fanbase. I was in Buffalo for four years, but those are my people. I feel like I understand them and they understand me, and it was one of the great pleasures of my career playing there." (via Sports Illustrated)