Alex Smith’s retirement leaves Ryan Fitzpatrick as one of only three players from the 2005 NFL draft class under contract for the 2021 season (along with Aaron Rodgers and Richie Incognito). Fitzpatrick was actually in the process of recording an episode of Chris Long’s podcast Green Light when his phone lit up with the news that Smith was hanging it up, so Long turned the conversation toward Smith and his career.
Fitzpatrick said Smith “was always really nice to me” and then shared a story about a time he tried to repay Smith’s kindness but saw his attempt backfire.