PHOENIX, Ariz. _ The far-flung media moguls, from Carolina to Green Bay, hungrily descended on Bengals head coach Zac Taylor Monday here during his media availability at the NFL meetings. They approached as if he were some kind of Marvel mystic with all the answers to finding that cloudy mountaintop holding the lock first overall pick, historic franchise quarterbacks and other NFL heavenly delights currently reigning at Paycor Stadium in the name of Joe Burrow.
Leave it to Ryan Fitzpatrick and his ethereal beard to check in on the proceedings. Fitzpatrick, the former Bengals quarterback starting his second season as an Amazon NFL analyst, stopped in for Monday night’s media reception. It will be recalled that he used his own brand of wizardry (“FitzMagic”) to give the Bengals the first draft pick of the 2020s.
As the quarterback of the Dolphins, Fitzpatrick outdueled the Bengals’ Andy Dalton in overtime of the next-to-last game of the decade to give the Bengals Burrow. Since then, Fitzpatrick has watched desperation translate to Tampa Bay selling out to get a franchise quarterback (Tom Brady), the Jets trading for one before they even have a deal in place (Aaron Rodgers) and the Ravens grinding their franchise to a halt as one (Lamar Jackson) tweets them to death.
“It’s the importance of the position,” Fitzpatrick says. “Cincinnati is great because they have one. As his career progresses, they have to pay him and they have to hit on draft picks every year because they can’t sign everybody and they’ll lose some guys. He’s going to become that much more important.”
Taylor got that question, too. How in the name of the 2015 Seahawks can you keep it all together once the quarterback is off the rookie deal? Taylor says, think about it for a second.
“If I’m not mistaken, a lot of Super Bowls have been won by guys on their second, third fourth and fifth and sixth and seventh deals, so I feel very comfortable we’re going to be able to compete at a high level even with Joe…
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