Update 1:15 p.m.: Ron Rivera announced after Wednesday's practice that Sam Howell will be the starter for Week 18's game against the Dallas Cowboys and Taylor Heinicke would serve as the backup. The original story based on the earlier report is below.
The Washington Commanders are once again turning back to Taylor Heinicke to be the starting quarterback, according to multiple reports.
Ron Rivera is expected to name Heinicke the starter for Sunday’s season finale later today, sending Carson Wentz back to the bench after he started the 24-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns which eliminated the Commanders from the playoff race.
However, the plan is for rookie quarterback Sam Howell to also play in Week 18 against Dallas Cowboys. This would be Howell’s NFL debut after he was selected in the 5th round of the 2022 NFL Draft (144th overall.)
This likely means Wentz has thrown his final pass with the Commanders.
Rivera named Wentz the starter for the 2022 season almost immediately after Washington traded for the quarterback. He remained the starter for the first six weeks of the season until he sustained a finger injury in a Thursday night win in Chicago that required surgery and sent Wentz to IR.
Heinicke started in his sted and while he did not put up stellar numbers led the Commanders to several wins and was able to hold the starting job after Wentz was healthy enough to serve as the backup on game days.
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Wentz did not see action again until Week 16 when Heinicke was benched early in the fourth quarter of the loss in San Francisco. Rivera decided to start Wentz the following week and he performed poorly, completing just 16 of 28 passes for only 143 yards while throwing three interceptions in the loss.
Heinicke, after making 15 starts a season ago, will start his 10th game of this season. He has completed 161 of 259 passes (62.2 percent) for 1859 yards (7.2 yards per attempt) with 12 touchdowns, six interceptions, and seven total fumbles. Heinicke has posted an 89.6 passer rating and 45.2 QBR. The Commanders went 5-3-1 in his starts.
Wentz, who made his seventh start of the season last week, has completed 172 of 276 passes (62.3 percent) for 1755 yards (6.4 yards per attempt) with 11 touchdowns, nine interceptions, and six total fumbles. he's posted an 80.2 passer rating and 33.2 QBR. Washington is 2-5 in his starts.
In three seasons at North Carolina, Howell threw for 10,283 yards, 92 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. At the moment, he is the only quarterback Washington has under contract for next season.
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