The Washington Football Team signed Ryan Fitzpatrick to be its new starting quarterback during the 2021 NFL offseason. Washington was hoping the 39-year-old veteran would help stabilize its quarterback room, which had been in flux for many years.
However, Fitzpatrick’s reign as starter lasted less than one half of Washington’s Week 1 game against the Chargers. He took a hard hit from Uchenna Nwosu on a first-down play and was slow getting up.
Here’s a look at what happened on the play.
Fitzpatrick was able to get up and walk off the field under his own power. He slowly hobbled his way to the Washington locker room.
Fitzpatrick was declared questionable to return with a hip injury before being ruled out later. He hasn’t played since.
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What is Ryan Fitzpatrick’s injury?
Fitzpatrick is dealing with a hip subluxation. A hip subluxation occurs when the femoral head — the “ball” that connects your leg to your hip — is not fully in the socket. It’s not a full dislocation, but it can cause limited range of motion and if not treated, can turn into a full dislocation, per NationwideChildrens.org.
How long is Ryan Fitzpatrick out?
Originally, it was reported that Fitzpatrick would be out for 6-8 weeks as a result of the injury. Washington placed him on IR and hoped that he would be poised for a midseason return.
However, ahead of Washington’s Week 10 game against the Buccaneers, Ron Rivera announced that there was still no timetable for Fitzpatrick to return.
Ron Rivera said Ryan Fitzpatrick did have his MRI and it shown “some progress” in his recovery from a partially dislocated hip (subluxation). He’ll continue to rehab and will be evaluated again at some point, but Rivera said he was given no timetable.
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) November 10, 2021
This news came roughly two months (eight weeks) into Fitzpatrick’s recovery. The fact that the 39-year-old had made only “some progress” while at the high-end estimate of his injury recovery was not a good sign. Washington hasn’t provided much more news on his status ahead of Week 12, and it seems possible that he could be out for the rest of the season.
Even if he does return, he may have a tough time unseating the player that took over for him as the team’s starting quarterback.
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Who is Washington’s starting quarterback?
Taylor Heinicke has started every game for Washington since Fitzpatrick’s injury. Heinicke was best known coming into the season for starting Washington’s 31-23 playoff loss to the Buccaneers during the 2021 NFL playoffs. He had a memorable touchdown run to cut Washington’s deficit to two in the third quarter.
Heinicke has made nine starts this season after making just two in his previous five NFL seasons. He has posted a 4-5 record and has completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 2,390 yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He hasn’t recorded a turnover during Washington’s two-game winning streak.
Ron Rivera recently compared Heinicke’s leadership to that of Alex Smith. That’s one of the reasons the veteran coach is confident that Washington can make a playoff run.
“Alex was a consummate leader, and you see those things starting to develop as far as Taylor is concerned,” Rivera said, per the Washington Post. “What is interesting for Taylor after what he did last year, for the most part guys have gravitated toward him because they felt with this guy that we have a chance. I think now you not only see him giving these guys hope and believe that we have a chance, but he is leading them. Very similar in style to the way that I thought Alex did.”
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Who is Washington’s backup quarterback?
Kyle Allen is the backup to Taylor Heinicke. Allen is actually the longest-tenured member of the Washington quarterback room. The team acquired him via a trade from the Panthers during the 2020 offseason.
Allen, 25, has started 17 career games and has a 7-10 record. He has completed 63.1 percent of his passes for 4,198 yards, 23 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He started four games for Washington in 2020 after beginning the season as the team’s backup quarterback.
Allen completed 69 percent of his passes for 610 yards, four touchdowns and an interception in those four starts. A broken leg prematurely ended his season and he came into this year as the team’s third-string quarterback behind Fitzpatrick and Heinicke.
Washington Football Team QB depth chart
Washington has three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster and practice squad currently. Kyle Shurmur, son of Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, is on the team’s practice squad and has served as the team’s third-string quarterback since Fitzpatrick first got injured.
| Rank | Player |
| 1 | Taylor Heinicke |
| 2 | Kyle Allen |
| 3 | Kyle Shurmur* |
* Denotes practice squad player.
It’s unclear where Fitzpatrick would rank on the depth chart if he returns this year. In all likelihood, he would serve as the backup to Heinicke given the confidence Rivera has expressed in the younger quarterback this season.