NFL record-holder Ryan Fitzpatrick reflects on why his journeyman career is something he would never change

When Ryan Fitzpatrick had his NFL dreams, he wanted what every kid wanted.

Fitzpatrick was hoping to stay with one team for his entire career, but as he recently told Fox News Digital, "That just didn't happen to be my story."

Instead, Fitzpatrick holds the NFL record for starting for nine separate teams and is the owner of numerous other oddities when it comes to dressing for nearly a third of the NFL's organizations.

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"I always wanted to play. So wherever I went, it was usually with the intention of becoming a starter and playing somewhere. Then inevitably somebody would get drafted, and I would move on and go play somewhere else because I was a guy that enjoyed being out there on the field and not sitting on the bench watching," Fitzpatrick said. "So that was just the way I was going to be able to do that, was to keep moving from team to team."

It was certainly an unorthodox career, and Fitzpatrick is the definition of a "journeyman," as he played for the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams, Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, and Washington Commanders.

But "I wouldn't change it for the world."

"A lot of it was the amount of teammates I was able to have, but it was also the journey that I was able to go on with my wife and with my kids, and all the cool people that we met outside of football," Fitzpatrick said.

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"Our neighbors and friends, there are relationships in every city that we'll keep forever. So, yeah, I think when people get drafted, they all have the notion that they're going to be with the same team for their whole career. That just didn't happen to be my story. I wouldn't change it for anything because I absolutely loved every second of it."

Those relationships have helped Fitzpatrick off the field, as he will again be one of the many celebrities teeing it up at this month's American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe. This year, he teamed up with Performance Golf to lower his handicap by a few strokes in hopes of being near the top of the leaderboard.

"The American Century is so much fun. It's a great group of guys and girls that are out there playing, and it really just feels like family because everybody comes in every year," Fitzpatrick said.

"You get to spend the time together, and that's how it is with the golf course. It's just a little bit different of a golf tournament, A, because we're not all great golfers, but B, because of the interactions that we get to have with the fans throughout the tournament. That's probably my favorite part."

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