Ryan Fitzpatrick Cracks Perfect Joke About Rams Tenure After Puka Nacua Adopts No. 12

It won't take much for Nacua to outshine Fitzpatrick as Rams No. 12.

St. Louis Rams quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (12) attempts a pass against Washington at the Edward Jones Dome. / Scott Rovak-Imagn Images

Before he played quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills—and the Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins and the Washington Football Team—Ryan Fitzpatrick spent two years with the St. Louis Rams. It doesn't sound like they were a particular highlight for the longtime NFL gunslinger.

Fitzpatrick wore No. 12 for the Rams in '05 and never donned the number again, switching to No. 11 the following season before wearing No. 14 for most of his career. With the news that wide receiver Puka Nacua will wear the No. 12 jersey after letting new teammate Davante Adams take No. 17, Fitzpatrick is happy to have someone else associated with the jersey.

Fitzpatrick jokingly gave Nacua "permission" to wear the number on Wednesday morning.

Puka I formally give you permission to don my former jersey number with the Rams…hopefully it works better for you than it did me pic.twitter.com/nqHRoaBZxC

— Ryan Fitzpatrick (@FitzMagic_14) March 12, 2025

Fitzpatrick was selected by the Rams in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL draft. After injuries to Marc Bulger and Jamie Martin, he was thurst into the starting role as a rookie, and it did not go well. He appeared in four games, making three starts, in which St. Louis went 0–3. Fitzpatrick completed 56.3% of his throws for just 5.8 yards per attempt, with four touchdowns and eight interceptions.

It's little surprise that he isn't super protective of No. 12.

Nacua should give the Rams' jersey some needed star power. Since Fitzpatrick wore it, it has largely been reserved for replacement-level quarterbacks—Gus Frerotte, Trent Green, Kyle Boller—and decent wide receivers like Brandin Cooks and Van Jefferson.

Nacua, meanwhile, lit up the NFL as a rookie in '23, earning second-team All-Pro honors with 1,486 yards and six touchdowns. Injuries prevented him from a second consecutive 1,000-yard season in '24, but with Wednesday's announced release of Cooper Kupp, No. 12 should be WR1 entering 2025.

---

More NFL on Sports Illustrated

feed