NFL Free Agency 2017: Ryan Fitzpatrick rediscovers flames for football

Ryan Fitzpatrick is open to making an NFL return next season if any team would want him. Knowing he is coming off a poor 2016-17 season, the 34-year-old has been waiting on offers since March but no offers have so far come.

Fitzpatrick is not aiming for a starting job. He is fine returning as a backup quarterback for any team. The landscape should change after the 2017 NFL Draft where most teams will be looking at the younger players.

The good news for Fitzpatrick is that the 2017 NFL Draft holds a shallow bunch of quarterbacks. Only a handful of names ring a bell such as Mitchell Trubisky and DeShaun Watson. As SB Nation puts it, the quarterbacks in the 2017 NFL Draft class could be more of a gamble than a surety of getting the proper player for the position.

Hence, the chances of free agent quarterbacks eventually hooking up with teams would be higher. There are several teams desperately seeking some help at the position and Fitzpatrick is ready to go once the phone rings. A lot of that should be answered once teams assess their lineups after their 2017 NFL Draft selections.

Ryan Fitzpatrick is coming off a hard year where he admits being affected mentally. It seems to be the reason why he needed time to weigh out things and decide on his next step. His competitive nature and love for the game stood out, and now he hopes to get that chance, the NY Daily News reported.

The 34-year-old veteran who once started for six different teams in his 12-year career is aware of what deals could come his way. Compounding that was his performance last year. He threw 2,710 yards and 12 touchdowns against a staggering 17 interceptions for the New York Jets in 2016, a performance that teams will consider.

Fitzpatrick ended ties with the Jets in February after spending two years as starting quarterback for the Jets, the NY Post reported. Re-signing with New York was unlikely and his options were whittled down to playing backup or retiring.

Despite his forgettable 2016 run, Fitzpatrick is seen as a great backup for more than half of the teams in the NFL. Aside from spelling the starting quarterback, Fitzpatrick is likely to do some mentoring as well. So the question right now is which team will be the first to give him a call.