Ryan Fitzpatrick is about to get a taste of the booth.
The star of Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football studio show is going to get some valuable game reps next week. According to a report by Richard Deitsch of The Athletic, Fitzpatrick will call the Monday Night Football game between the San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers for Westwood One radio. He’ll team up with play-by-play announcer Ryan Radtke. The usual broadcast duo of Kevin Harlan and Kurt Warner have the week off.
Fitzpatrick has been a fan favorite in the studio alongside Richard Sherman, Andrew Whitworth, and Tony Gonzalez ever since Prime Video debuted its exclusive Thursday Night Football broadcasts in 2022. However, the former NFL journeyman hasn’t dabbled in calling actual games since his retirement three years ago. While his boisterous personality would generally lend itself more favorably to studio coverage, Fitzpatrick also has the analysis chops to hang with any broadcaster calling a game.
Perhaps this is the start of something new for the Harvard-educated quarterback. He’d be far from the first person to make the transition from the studio to the booth. And as the NFL continues to add one-off games like on Christmas Day or as part of the league’s international series, there will be more opportunities for someone like Ryan Fitzpatrick to get some reps in the booth, especially as traditional broadcasters become reluctant to loan out talent for those games.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.