Fitzpatrick finished season hurt: The Sports Xchange reports that Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick's second-half swoon in 2011 was mystifying to fans and media who concluded the front office badly miscalculated in handing the career journeyman a 10-year, $60 million contract extension. But now it appears Fitzpatrick played the final nine games last season with cracked ribs. "A lot of people don't know, but Fitz, during the Washington game, actually cracked a couple of ribs," WR David Nelson said. "So after that he was playing hurt." It showed. In Fitzpatrick's first seven games of the year, he threw for 1,739 yards, 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions. After the injury, he had 2,093 yards, 10 touchdowns and 16 picks. He finished the year with a league-high 23 interceptions. "It's hard to find the silver lining but as we evaluate the season and what went right and what went wrong I'm sure we'll find a lot of positives and a lot of things that we can carry into next year hopefully and continue to get better at it," Fitzpatrick said. (Updated 02/14/2012)
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 5/27/12).
Fantasy Analysis
Fitzpatrick obviously has 4,000-yard, 25-touchdown potential, but issues involving the personnel around him along with his own issues (accuracy, for one) make him risky for weekly use in Fantasy. Figure that he's worth a late-round pick as a good No. 2 Fantasy QB with potential to be a low-end starter. It should only help him if the Bills not only re-sign Steve Johnson this offseason, but also add talent at wide receiver. (Updated 02/14/2012).
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Ryan Fitzpatrick needs to use the hot start he had in 2011 and carry it throughout the whole year in 2012. Fitzpatrick started the season with 82 Fantasy points in his first three games (standard scoring), which included nine touchdowns and just three interceptions and a dramatic comeback victory against New England in Week 3. His hot start convinced the Bills to give him a seven-year, $62 million contract extension, but Fitzpatrick struggled to close the season and was apparently dealing with a rib injury that was more serious than even the coaches were led to believe. In Fitzpatrick's first seven games of the year, he threw for 1,739 yards, 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions. After the injury, he had 2,093 yards, 10 touchdowns and 16 picks. He finished the year with a league-high 23 interceptions. We hope Fitzpatrick can turn things around, and the Bills helped him by keeping standout receiver Steve Johnson this offseason. But Fitzpatrick remains just a No. 2 Fantasy quarterback. He should only be drafted as a backup option with a late-round pick. (Updated 5/24/12)
