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The Washington Football Team is in the unenviable position of playing a critical road game against a division foe without knowing who will start at quarterback.
Thanks to a recent COVID-19 outbreak, both of Washington’s quarterbacks — Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen — currently reside on the reserve/COVID-19 list. That means Kyle Shurmur or Garrett Gilbert could start for Washington Tuesday night against the Eagles.
Shurmur signed with Washington’s practice squad in September and has never taken a regular-season NFL snap. Gilbert has played for several teams since entering the NFL in 2014 and was signed off the Patriots’ practice squad Friday.
While Gilbert has just one career start, he does have a history with head coach Ron Rivera.
On Sunday, Rivera spoke to the media regarding both quarterbacks.
First, he talked Gilbert:
Coming along. It’s going well. You know, I thought the quarterbacks had a good day today and I thought Garrett did a nice job. I thought he handled the wind pretty well. It was pretty windy out there for the most part and the quarterbacks had to throw into it. I thought they did a good job with it.
Then, he was asked about Shurmur:
“I think he’s doing a nice job in terms of preparation and getting himself ready just in case, “Rivera said.
From those brief statements, you can tell where Rivera is leaning if Heinicke or Allen can’t go. Gilbert will start for Washington.
However, the head coach is more optimistic about Heinicke and Allen’s chances for Tuesday.
“I do know, having seen the numbers that they’re all trending up, so that’s a good thing,” Rivera said. This is a tricky thing. It’s a health matter. Depending on how things go in the next 24 to 36 hours, we’ll know even more.”
Rivera is correct. By Monday afternoon, we should know if Allen or Heinicke will clear COVID protocols in time to start Tuesday. Some optimism for Washington is the WFT activated WR Cam Sims Sunday, and he went on the list the same day as Allen last week.
If Allen or Heinicke can’t play, Washington has almost no shot at winning this game against a rested and healthy Philadelphia team, also battling for a playoff berth.