Washington Football Team QB Taylor Heinicke has solid minicamp

Keep those Kurt Warner comparisons in your back pocket. Maybe Washington Football Team QB Taylor Heinicke isn’t done just yet.

The Washington Football Team recently conducted its official minicamp — an important acclimation period for all 90 players ahead of training camp in August. The event is mainly purposed for preparation, and it’s not advisable to assume much from what happens. But with Washington’s QB situation, there’s naturally something to talk about.

The Washington Football Team came into the offseason with Taylor Heinicke, Kyle Allen, and Steven Montez as its only returning quarterbacks. Heinicke, of course, endeared himself to the fanbase with his gutsy performance in the team’s Wild Card round loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Heinicke played well, against the eventual Super Bowl champions, and with relatively little time to prepare. But as inspiring as he was, he didn’t earn the starting job outright as a result. Instead, the Washington Football Team signed veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick, presumably as a bridge starter, until Washington acquires their next franchise quarterback in the 2022 NFL Draft.

That remains the likeliest long-term course of action for Washington. But let’s not count Heinicke out just yet.

According to reports, Heinicke had a very good minicamp. In fact, one Washington Football Team reporter says the 28-year old looked better than Fitzpatrick, who’s currently the favorite to start. NBC’s Peter Hailey had this to say about Heinicke and his play during the team’s extended practice session.

“Heinicke was impressive throughout the three days of action, registering major highlights such as a long touchdown strike to rookie Dyami Brown and handling smaller, yet still critical, tasks like executing pre-snap adjustments and not going overboard when things got messy in the pocket.”

Hailey claimed that Heinicke looked better than Fitzpatrick overall. This, of course, came with several asterisks. Heinicke has more experience with Scott Turner’s scheme. He also has more experience with Washington’s receiver group. Furthermore, Heinicke primarily played against the backup defense. Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, drew the vaunted starting unit.

Nevertheless, there’s something to be said for Heinicke’s continued perseverance, especially when looking at Fitzpatrick’s track record. As much as Fitzpatrick is an upgrade for the Washington Football Team, he hasn’t started a full season since 2015 with the Jets.

Fitzpatrick is the consummate journeyman. And with a strong roster, like Washington’s, there’s a chance he could win games. But by the same virtue, Fitzpatrick is also inherently volatile. If that volatility moves Washington away from their desired spot in the standings, there’s a chance Heinicke’s hard work pays off, and he gets another chance to prove he can be the guy.

Again, it’s far too early to over-react to any offseason developments. It’s June. But anything is possible, and Taylor Heinicke is doing his part to make sure it stays that way.