I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but there's a bit of a disturbing trend going on with this guy's career.
Everywhere Ryan Fitzpatrick goes, misfortune rains upon anyone who stands in front of him on the depth chart.
Let's review how things have gone for all four teams Fitzpatrick has played with:
St. Louis Rams - Fitzpatrick, a Harvard grad with a perfect Wonderlic score, is drafted in the 7th round of the 2005 draft as an intriguing project pick. The team who drafts him, the St. Louis Rams, is already set with a franchise quarterback. Marc Bulger, a Pro Bowler who has led them to back-to-back playoff appearances, is in the prime of his career. However, Bulger injures his right throwing shoulder after a 2-4 start to the 2005 season. He returns a few weeks later, but after losing two more games, he re-injures his shoulder and is out for the year. Bulger is replaced by Jamie Martin in Week 12, but Martin quickly succumbs to injury himself in the first quarter. In comes Ryan Fitzpatrick. The unheralded 7th round rookie shocks the world with a brilliant performance, throwing for 310 yards on just 30 attempts, and delivers a 56-yard bomb in Kevin Curtis to win the game in overtime. This, however, is just a tease. Fitzpatrick plays horribly over the next three games, tossing five interceptions in his second start and throwing for 69 yards on 24 attempts in his third. He is relegated back to the bench, and never sees the field again for the Rams before being let go after the 2006 season. As for Bulger, his career quickly falls apart. He rebounds with a pretty strong season in 2006 despite failing to reach the playoffs, but this doesn't last. Starting in 2007, the Rams plummet toward the bottom of the NFL and Bulger's numbers instantly crash for the next few seasons. With a horrible team surrounding him, Bulger appears shellshocked and never plays like his old self. Once Bulger is let go by the Rams, he never gets another starting job.
Cincinnati Bengals - Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, finds himself in Cincinnati by the 2007 season, where he is backing up another franchise quarterback. Carson Palmer, who has made back-to-back Pro Bowls, appears to have recovered just fine from his torn ACL and is right back on track to being a superstar....until 2007. Palmer throws 20 interceptions in a 7-9 season for the Bengals, an unexpected decline from the young superstar. But while 2007 was merely disappointing, 2008 was a disaster for Palmer. He is plagued with an elbow injury early in the season, later revealed to be a torn ligament, and aggravates it in a Week 5 loss before being placed on IR. Many believe this elbow injury has permanently affected Palmer, taking away some of the arm strength he once had. He has never been the same since. Fitzpatrick again enters the starting lineup following Palmer's injury, but doesn't play well enough to warrant serious consideration as a starting quarterback.
Buffalo Bills - In 2009, Fitzpatrick signs with Buffalo to back up a somewhat promising young quarterback in Trent Edwards. While Edwards had not been spectacular in his first two seasons, he had performed reasonably well in what was thought of by some as a game manager role as Buffalo's starting quarterback. Until 2009, of course. Edwards regresses in his third season and, at the halfway point, is benched. Fitzpatrick once again enters the lineup and starts most of the second half of the season. Despite the benching, the story remains the same one year later: Edwards once again wins the starting job in 2010. It doesn't last. Edwards ends up playing two of the worst games of his life to start the season, and is surprisingly released by the Bills afterwards. After a disastrous midseason stint with Jacksonville, Edwards' career in the NFL is essentially over. Fitzpatrick, back in the lineup once again, surprises everyone with a decent performance to close the 2010 season. While that performance was promising, he then shocks the world in 2011 with a dominant 3-0 start capped off by a miraculous comeback victory over the Patriots. The Bills prematurely reward him with a massive contract extension, and Fitzpatrick immediately proceeds to regress back to his old self. He throws 20 picks in the last 13 games as the Bills go 3-10 to close out the season. He continues to languish in mediocrity in 2012 before being released.
Tennessee Titans - Once again, Fitzpatrick finds himself in a situation where he's backing up a young, potential franchise quarterback when he signs with Tennessee for 2013. The results, so far, are eerily similar. While Jake Locker appeared to have turned the corner on the field, he has now been struck down with injuries twice this year and is now out for the season. Yet again, Ryan Fitzpatrick returns to the starting lineup. To recap, nothing but terrible things have happened to the quarterbacks Ryan Fitzpatrick has backed up in his career, regardless of how good they were thought to be at the time. Marc Bulger, Carson Palmer and Trent Edwards all saw their fortunes collapse quickly and unexpectedly once Fitzpatrick came to town. Then, Jake Locker has also been lost for the season.
Houston Texans - Fitzpatrick was slated to be the Texans starting quarterback for the 2014-2015 season. However, Ryan Fitzpatrick was benched in Week 11 in favor of Ryan Mallet, a trade acquisition from the Patriots. After only starting a couple games, however, Mallet suffered a season-ending injury in Week 12 against the Bengals. Case Keenum finished the season as the starter.
New York Jets - August 11, 2015 only a couple weeks into training camp Geno Smith was sucker punched by a fellow player. This resulted in a broken jaw for Geno, and a minimum 6 week recovery time. Geno probably won't start until Week 3.
TL;DR
Rams - Bulger and Martin both injured by week 11. Fitz starts 3.
Bengals - Palmer injured most the season. Fitz starts 12.
Bills - Edwards injured. Fitz starts 9.
Titans - Locker injured week 4, Fitz starts 9.
Texans - Starts season as QB1, Mallet takes over then injured after 3 starts. Fitz is QB1 again.
Jets - Geno punched. Fitz starter in the preseason.
