Bengals trade for Rams QB Fitzpatrick

The Bengals today traded an undisclosed 2008 draft pick to the St. Louis Rams for No. 3 quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Jay Zygmunt, Rams president of football operations, confirmed the trade with The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The Bengals pushed back coach Marvin Lewis' news conference from 2:15 p.m. to 4 p.m. today. At that point, the team will announce its roster moves. The Bengals and all NFL teams face that deadline to trim to 53 players. The Bengals had 75 for their exhibition game Friday night.

Fitzpatrick, a third-year player from Harvard, played in four NFL games with three starts in his first two seasons with the Rams. He was their seventh-round pick, 250 overall, in the 2005 draft.

As a rookie, in his only NFL game action, Fitzpatrick was 76-for-135 passing for 777 yards, four touchdowns and eight interceptions. He came off the bench in Week 12 at Houston and led the Rams to a 33-27 overtime victory, going 19-for-30 passing for 310 yards, three touchdowns and one interception against the Texans.

He did not play during 2006. Fitzpatrick is regarded as a tough competitor with a strong arm and quick feet. He is especially accurate in short-range situations. He has an economics degree from Harvard.

The Bengals had three quarterbacks on their roster Friday night: starter Carson Palmer, backup Doug Johnson and rookie Jeff Rowe.

Johnson started Friday night against the Colts and was not impressive. Both of the first two possessions ended with Johnson throwing interceptions. He also had a pass batted down at the line of scrimmage, a constant problem for Johnson through the preseason.

Johnson ended the preseason 39-for-68 passing for 407 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions. His passer rating was 60.1. He was sacked five times.

Rowe, playing against lesser competition, was 18-for-30 passing for 157 yards, one touchdown and one interception. His passer rating was 71.1

It's unclear what the Bengals might do. Do they cut Johnson and make Fitzpatrick the No. 2? Does Fitzpatrick compete with Johnson to be the No. 2, and the Bengals waive Rowe, anticipating he will clear waivers, and sign him to the practice squad Sunday?

Stay tuned. Clear by the trade, though, is coaches and management are not content with the situation behind Palmer. It was obvious in the preseason that few NFL teams would suffer a greater letdown in talent and productivity if their starting quarterback were injured than the Bengals.

Fitzpatrick played well Thursday night in the Rams' 10-3 victory over Kansas City in the preseason. He was 12-for-18 passing for 107 yards. He ran for 26 yards on seven scrambles.

"I thought Fitz got better as the game went on," Rams coach Scott Linehan said after the game. "It helped for him to play more extended time. If you give a guy a chance, especially at the quarterback position, to play through some things, he's going to improve. And I was happy to see that."

Fitzpatrick had been the subject of interest from other teams. The Lions were reportedly interested. Detroit offensive coordinator Mike Martz was Rams coach when the team drafted Fitzpatrick.

Marc Bulger is the Rams starter and backed up by former Bengals journeyman Gus Frerotte. Brock Berlin will be St. Louis' third quarterback.