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For a quarterback of his caliber (consistently mediocre), Ryan Fitzpatrick has sure mastered how to keep his name nationally relevant. First, he embarked upon a contract standoff with the Jets that consumed the entire offseason. Then, when he finally returned a week ago on a one-year deal, he showed up sporting a full beard and hair that resembled a jungle.

As my colleague, Ryan Wilson, wrote after Fitzpatrick shaved his head, "he looked like Bigfoot."

On Thursday, Fitzpatrick revealed how and why he cut off his "stupid" hair. It involved a contest with the Jets defense.

"So basically, my hair was just stupid," Fitzpatrick told Boomer & Carton. "So, I needed to cut it. I was going to cut it anyway. ... I told the defense, I went up to Rontez Miles and a few of the guys and said, 'The next person that picks me off gets to give me a fresh summer 'do.'"

The contest lasted one practice. The interceptor ended up being a fourth-round rookie named Juston Burris, who won the honor of shaving Fitzpatrick's head in front of the team.

"I threw it to a rookie, too, which was awful, like a double whammy," Fitzpatrick said. "But it was one of those things like it got picked off, and I actually was kind of smiling about it, because I finally got to cut that thing off the top of my head."

Now? Fitzpatrick doesn't look like Bigfoot, though he said he has to put a little more air in his helmet so it fits him.

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Ryan Fitzpatrick kept the beard, though. USATSI