In a year of many changes, as many as half of the NFL’s 32 teams may have a new starting quarterback in 2021.
Washington Football Team, who started Dwayne Haskins in 2020, will be one of them. But unlike the Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions, and Indianapolis Colts, who already have a new guy in place, Ron Rivera’s 2021 starter may not be on the roster yet.
Or is he?
Washington Football legend Joe Theismann recently threw his weight behind soon-to-be 28-year-old quarterback Taylor Heinicke, telling Doug Flutie he was good with Heinicke “having the job right from the get-go.”
And while Theismann has his reasons for his opinion, not everyone shares his viewpoint. “I totally disagree with Joe on this,” Kevin Sheehan said on The Team 980 Thursday.
And part of why Sheehan disagrees is based upon the same reasoning Theismann used to get to his conclusion: familiarity with Scott Turner’s offense.
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“You can't beat familiarity with the system,” Theismann told Flutie. “It's easier for a coach to talk to you as opposed to trying to explain it to somebody who’s never been in it. I think he’s the guy you start with now.”
But there’s another guy around Washington’s QB room with equal familiarity with Turner’s and Ron Rivera’s system: Kyle Allen.
In the last three seasons, Allen has made 17 starts in the NFL all under Rivera and in Turner's offense. Heinicke has made just two starts under that pair and was not in football in 2019, nor on Washington's roster to begin 2020.
And while both Sheehan and Theismann agree there will likely be another quarterback added to the group of Heinicke and Allen, they disagree on who has the inside track to the starting job now.
“I want a third [quarterback on the roster] that’s better than what they have, but if they can’t find one at the right price, I actually believe Kyle Allen is gonna win the job,” he said. “I want it to be a legitimate competition, I want Taylor Heinicke to have a chance, I think there’s something to Kyle Allen. I think Kyle Allen looks like a guy that could be an NFL starting quarterback, in some ways more than Heinicke.”
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While Sheehan says he intrigued by Heinicke, he believes Allen may have more believers within the Washington organization.
“I’m more intrigued with the fact that the guys that have seen Allen and Heinicke more than anybody else have over the last few years, the Carolina contingent of Ron Rivera, Scott Turner, etc. That they traded for Kyle Allen,” he said. “They didn’t even sign Taylor Heinicke last year until they were desperate for another quarterback on the roster.”
Heinicke was added to the roster in December to serve as the team’s “Covid QB” after the Denver Broncos were forced to start a non-QB at the position when Covid protocols meant all of their quarterbacks were unable to play.
And going back to last season, Sheehan notes if there had been a normal training camp and preseason games, Allen likely would have been the Week 1 starter over Haskins.
Sheehan and producer Brendan Darr note, Heinicke has much less professional experience than Allen, despite being three years older.
“[Heinicke had] been out of the league for two years, he was a backup in the XFL,” Darr said. “I can’t imagine just handing that guy a starting quarterback job in the NFL and just not even considering a competition, with all due respect to Joe [Theismann].”
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Listen to the full segment from The Kevin Sheehan Show here:
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