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One thing that has been consistent under Ron Rivera’s leadership in Washington is his desire to have a competition at the quarterback position, allowing the handful of players to bring out the best in each other and letting the cream rise to the top.
We were expecting that to happen once again heading into this offseason, with Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen on the roster, but then the signing of veteran QB Ryan Fitzpatrick seemed to knock the other two down a rung, giving him the starting job and letting the other two battle it out for QB2.
On Thursday, Rivera admitted that Fitzpatrick is the proverbial starting QB as of now, but he still expects there to be a competition in OTA’s and training camp this summer.
Ron Rivera says that Ryan Fitzpatrick comes in as the No. 1 quarterback, but there will be a competition. Competition does create the opportunity for guys to put it all out there
— Rhiannon Walker (@InstantRHIplay) April 1, 2021
What could become very interesting is if Washington decides to add another QB to the roster in the NFL Draft this year. They don’t need to, but if there is a guy that they like that falls to them in the mid-rounds, like Kellen Mond or Kyle Trask, it would benefit them to grab him and allow him to acclimate to the NFL lifestyle for a year while Fitzpatrick holds the starting reins.
If that’s the case though, you’d have to expect that one of the current QBs gets cut, as 4 is too many to carry on the roster. Going based solely on contracts, it would seem that Allen lifts out the easiest, since he is owed the least amount of money, and the team locked Heinicke down for a couple of years already.
Whoever is on the roster entering training camp, though, it seems that they will likely be battling it out for second place, with Fitzpatrick holding court. That is, of course, unless someone comes in and completely knocks Rivera’s socks off. Then things get very interesting.
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