Who Should Be Washington’s Starting Quarterback in 2021?

By: Ryan Cooley

On February 10^th, Taylor Heinicke signed a two-year/$8.75 million contract. On March 15^th, Ryan Fitzpatrick signed a one-year/$10 million. In typical Washington fashion, the 2021 offseason has revolved around the quarterback position. Fans are torn between rooting for a quarterback that played a damn near perfect game in Washington’s first playoff appearance since 2015 and a quarterback with much more experience.

Rivera mentioned early on that Fitzpatrick is the starting quarterback while Heinicke is the backup. However, he also said there would be an actual competition, and Taylor would have the opportunity to win the starting gig.

This article looks at both quarterbacks and why they should be the quarterback under center in week one.

*All statistics mentioned come from Pro Football Focus

Why Fitzpatrick Should Start

Ryan Fitzpatrick is currently on his ninth NFL team and has seen it all. Fitzpatrick has not had much success as a starter, but he has strung together the best seasons of his career the past three years, managing a grade of 75+ all three seasons. Fitzpatrick also recorded the highest adjusted completion percentage of his career in 2020 (78.2%). His 78.5 average grade from 2018-2020  is far superior to what Washington had last season.

The experience Fitzpatrick possesses is irreplaceable. Outside of Fitzpatrick, the three quarterbacks on Washington’s roster (Allen, Heinicke, and Montez) have a combined total of 19 NFL starts. Fitzpatrick has 146. Washington does not need him to play hero ball and win them games. The team surrounding him is good enough to win many games in 2021 if he just plays at a decent level.

Why Heinicke Should Start

There is no denying how well Heinicke played in the Wild Card matchup against Tampa Bay. His performance that night warranted the highest grade (92) from any quarterback in the playoffs. However, that was not the only strong performance in 2020. When called upon in the game against Carolina, Heinicke played lights out. In only 68 attempts, Heinicke managed seven Big Time Throws to only one Turnover Worthy Play. For comparison, Fitzpatrick had only 12 Big Time Throws in 267 attempts while committing 14 Turnover Worthy Plays.

Many reports noted that he outplayed Fitzpatrick in minicamp, so is it that crazy to think maybe Taylor isn’t a one-hit-wonder? No one expects Fitzpatrick to be a top 10 quarterback this year, so why not take a shot on Heinicke. There is no denying that Heinicke has the higher ceiling of the two. If he struggles, then simply call on Fitzpatrick in relief.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, I still expect Fitzpatrick to be under center for week one. However, Heinicke did manage to put some pressure on him and proved to Rivera that he should have an open competition in training camp. It will be exciting to see the two compete in August. Hopefully, one of these two quarterbacks can be relied on for the entire 2021 season.