Ryan Fitzpatrick outlasted Andrew Luck

Andrew Luck’s surprise retirement shocked the sports world and revved up a week-long news cycle. I’d like to imagine the radio jocks like Doug Gottlieb setting an alarm in the morning, editing and rewriting his nuclear tweet over some coffee, and then smugly hitting publish and tossing his phone into the trash as the notifications and roasts pile up.

I’m devastated to see not only Luck leave the sport, but the anguish and pain in his eyes as he held his retirement press conference. As someone who also struggles with my beard extending to the end of my neck, I hate to see a brother in arms in such pain.

While Luck now joins a group of young retirees like Rob Gronkowski, Barry Sanders, Jim Brown, and Calvin Johnson, he’s the first quarterback to leave this early. I pulled together a list of quarterbacks’ final season on Pro Football Reference to try and see the rarity of someone of Luck’s caliber walking away.

Quarterbacks with at least 8 games started in the final season had an average passer rating of 75.4 and a completion rate of 58.4%. Roger Staubach had the best total output of this cohort, tossing 27 touchdowns and only 11 picks in 1979. I also loved Fran Tarkenton’s final year, as he put up 3,468 passing yards, 25 touchdowns, and a truly perfect 32 interceptions in 1978.

Luck posted a career-best year last season, which only gets sadder when compared to his fellow retirement seasons.

While Luck leaves us, the gift of Fitzmagic returns.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, the man so tumultuous I named an entire volatility score after him, returns for another season as the surprise starter. I celebrated his signing in the offseason by recapping his career to date, with this section particularly relevant today.

WELCOME BACK TO THE AFC EAST, FITZ! Can’t wait for him to beat the Jets in New Jersey and break my heart one last time.

Suggested readings

Don’t tell this to my fantasy running backs, but the numbers on efficiency and gains on pass catching backs don’t appear to justify the usage

Not sports, but just another fun detail from the best Spider-Man movie ever

In my Mitchell Robinson profile, I asked if he could coexist with Julius Randle on both ends of the court. This Posting and Toasting article covers just that, with plenty of clips

Deontay Wilder is a bad, bad dude, and this GQ profile lets his personality shine

Look at this gross and disgusting trailer for NBA 2K20’s not-at-all gambling mode.

Data visualization of the week

I often reference Sprawlball as the pinnacle of cool data visualizations, and I’m excited to see the cartographical approach that Kirk Goldsberry took applied to other sports. Here’s a fun version for soccer, looking at the passing tendencies of the Man City center back.

A non-problematic YouTube suggestion

I am plugging SB Nation’s YouTube every week, but with content like this, it’s hard not to appreciate.

Philip Rivers might be the unluckiest franchise quarterback of all-time, and this video on the lost 2010 Chargers season showcases everything snake-bitten about his career.

Fantasy football comes back in six days. I’ve got something fun planned for that, and by fun, I of course mean financially ruinous and incredibly painful.

A huge thank you, as always, for keeping the ship afloat and supporting me. It means the world to be able to work on this site, and it means twice as much to know people are reading, consuming, and engaging. We’re powered by word of mouth, so if you’re liking your subscription, please share with a friend!

Hit me up at [email protected], and get ready for FITZMAGIC.