Washington Football Team: Latest roster move confirms WFT’s conviction in Taylor Heinicke

As if losing to the Chargers wasn’t enough, the Washington Football Team will be without their starting quarterback for several games.

Late in the second quarter on Sunday, Ryan Fitzpatrick was forced from the game after taking a ferocious hit while dropping back to pass.

While Fitz was able to walk off under his own power, his MRI revealed he suffered a hip subluxation. The 38-year-old is headed for injured reserve, meaning the earliest he can return is Week 5 against the Saints.

In most circumstances, a team that just lost its starting QB would be hard-pressed to win any games in their absence. Luckily for Washington, there isn’t a big gap between Fitzpatrick and Taylor Heinicke, who performed well vs the Chargers.

Some fans have been clamoring for the Football Team to sign another QB to compete with Heinicke and third-stringer Kyle Allen. However, their latest move affirms how content they are with their current options.

On Monday, the Football Team signed Kyle Shurmur to their practice squad. Suffice it to say he won’t push for the starting job.

The Football Team’s latest roster confirms they trust Taylor Heinicke to run the offense without Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Schumur obviously isn’t a known commodity in the NFL. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Vanderbilt in 2019 and has made brief pitstops with the Chiefs, Broncos, and Bengals over his first two seasons.

In three years at Vandy, Shurmur completed just 57.1% of his passes for 8,865 yards and 64 touchdowns to 29 interceptions. At this point in his career, the former Commodore is your typical practice squad quarterback.

The Football Team likely knew before anyone that Fitzpatrick faced a lengthy spell on the sidelines, so the fact they didn’t push the envelope on the trade or free agent market proves they believe Heinicke can win games.

It’s hard to fault them for feeling that way. Not only did Heinicke help push Tom Brady and the Buccaneers to the brink in the playoffs last year, but he was electric after coming off the bench ice cold on Sunday.

Though he got more reps than Fitzpatrick, it was clear that Washington’s offense looked better in the preseason when Heinicke was pulling the strings. That narrative continued into Week 1, as Heinicke finished 11-of-15 for 122 yards and a TD to Logan Thomas in just over two quarters of action.

On a different day, Heinicke would’ve led Washington to a win. The only thing preventing him from playing hero was the defense’s inability to get off the field on third down, allowing the Chargers to finish a ridiculous 14-for-19.

That was the story of the game, folks. That…and Ron Rivera’s questionable punt with six minutes left in the fourth quarter and Antonio Gibson’s costly fumble that led to a Chargers touchdown, but we digress.

Nevertheless, Heinicke will be Washington’s QB1 for the foreseeable future. Given how Fitzpatrick looked in the preseason and the opening stages of Week 1, this honestly might be a blessing in disguise for the Football Team.

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