Well, it’s finally official—sort of. On Sunday, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that Ryan Fitzpatrick would be the starting quarterback for the Washington Football Team in 2021.
One important QB note: The Washington Football Team will start QB Ryan Fitzpatrick in Week 1 and going forward, I’m told. This has been obvious by the way the WFT preseason played out, though it was never announced. But it will be Fitz under center.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 29, 2021
This is obviously no surprise. But don’t expect head coach Ron Rivera to make an official announcement anytime soon.
Fitzpatrick signed a one-year contract in March to compete for the starting job with Taylor Heinicke. While Heinicke received plenty of reps throughout training camp, it was always clear this was Fitzpatrick’s team in 2021.
Washington just completed its preseason with a 37-3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday. Rivera chose to sit all of his starters in the game to avoid injuries.
Fitzpatrick played in two preseason games, playing around two full quarters of play. He completed 12 of 21 passes for 151 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
Washington’s first-team offense did not score a touchdown in its brief time on the field together in the preseason. However, in both of his starts, Fitzpatrick appeared to already have a solid rapport with tight end Logan Thomas and wide receivers Terry McLaurin and Adam Humphries.
Washington is set to open the regular season on Sept. 12 against the Los Angeles Chargers at FedEx Field.
