How Close Did Washington QB Fitzpatrick Come To Retirement?

Had the only offers been to serve as a 38-year-old caddy ... Fitzpatrick would've very likely said 16 NFL seasons are enough.

There were rumors early in the NFL free agency period that had new Washington quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick supposedly contemplating retirement.

They were true. Kinda. And then Ron Rivera's Washington Football Team called.

“At this point, if I’m not out there playing, if I’m not considered a starter, if they’re not going to give me an opportunity to compete, then that’s the point where I’ll probably hang them up,” Fitzpatrick said on The Ross Tucker Football Podcast.

In other words, had Washington not come along in the free agency period last week and offered not only the one-year, $10 million deal, but also the likely opportunity to be the No. 1 QB ahead of Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen ... had the only offers been to serve as a 38-year-old caddy ... Fitzpatrick would've very likely said 16 NFL seasons are enough.

There's an old saying, credited to long-time Buffalo Bills coach (and then later swiped by Bill Parcells) that "one you are thinking of retirement, you should retire.''

But maybe a player gets a mulligan on that when he's 38.

Rivera has talked about wanting a quarterback competition at training camp. That, as a rule, goes for every position. Could, say, Chase Young get beaten out as a first-teamer? Well, no ... but his backups should approach camp as if that's a possibility.

Will Fitzpatrick be "competing'' for a job? In the purest sense, yes. But he'll start as the No. 1, and the idea is that he'll continue that way as well, all along adding his particular "juju'' to a WFT club he believes has plenty.

READ MORE: 'Good Juju': QB Fitzpatrick Adds To Reasons He Signed With WFT

And down the line, when his starting days are over? It seems Ryan Fitzpatrick's playing days will be over as well.