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Washington Football Team tabs Ryan Fitzpatrick as starter, rules out Cam Newton

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The Washington Football Team named Ryan Fitzpatrick as its starting quarterback and put an end to talk that Cam Newton would reunite with his longtime NFL coach.

Newton, who was released by the New England Patriots on Tuesday, spent nine seasons with current Washington head coach Ron Rivera in Carolina. The 32-year-old Newton was named the NFL MVP during the 2015 campaign with the Panthers.

Rivera acknowledged that Washington is set at the quarterback position.

“It did pop up on our radar, but just so you know, Ryan Fitzpatrick is our starting quarterback,” Rivera said. “So that’s where we are. We have three guys we like that all came to camp, did a nice job for us and we’re going to go forward with those guys.”

Taylor Heinicke will serve as the backup, while Kyle Allen is the team’s No. 3 quarterback.

Fitzpatrick, 38, began last season as the starter for the Miami Dolphins. However, rookie Tua Tagovailoa took over in the second half of the 2020 season and is viewed as the future of the franchise.

A seventh-round pick in 2005, Fitzpatrick has played for the then-St. Louis Rams, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dolphins.

Read our NFL playoff predictions to see if Ryan Fitzpatrick will lead Washington to the postseason

Fitzpatrick has 34,977 career passing yards and 223 touchdown passes with 169 interceptions. Last season, he went 4-3 as a starter, completing a career-high 68.5 percent of his passes for 2,091 yards with 13 TD passes and eight interceptions.

Newton, 32, completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 2,657 yards with eight touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He ran for 592 yards with 12 scores.

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–Field Level Media

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