Two days before postponed Eagles game, Washington is still missing Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen

The Washington Football Team’s COVID-19 reserve list is shrinking, but its options at quarterback remain scarce.

Roughly 48 hours away from the Eagles’ postponed home game against Washington, the team’s starting quarterback Taylor Heinicke and backup Kyle Allen remained on the COVID-19 list Sunday. Washington coach Ron Rivera told reporters Sunday there’s a chance for one of the two signal callers to be available by Tuesday night’s game, but it will depend on how much they progress in the next day or so.

“I do know having seen the numbers that they’re all trending [positively], so that’s a good thing,” Rivera said during a videoconference. “This is a tricky thing. It’s a health matter. Depending on how things go in the next 24 to 36 hours, we’ll know even more.”

If Heinicke and Allen aren’t available, the indication is Washington will start Garrett Gilbert, who signed with the team on Friday after Heinicke was placed on the COVID-19 list. Allen’s been on the list since Wednesday.

Gilbert has some familiarity with Rivera and Washington offensive coordinator Scott Turner’s scheme and terminology because he spent one season with them on the Carolina Panthers in 2018. The two days the league afforded Washington to get control of its outbreak have also afforded Gilbert a slightly longer chance to refresh his knowledge of Rivera and Turner’s scheme, something Rivera said has been beneficial for both parties.

“I think it’s been very good for him,” Rivera said. “His recall has been very good. The game-planning specific things, it’s really helped not just him, but I think the coaches get a good handle and feel for what he does really well and what he can adapt to and adjust with. It’s also given him an opportunity to watch a little bit more film and see a little bit more of what to expect from them on a defensive side.”

If it is Gilbert, it would be just his second career start in three seasons. The sixth-round pick out of SMU spent his rookie year with Rivera but was cut the next offseason. The Cowboys signed him off the Browns’ practice squad in 2020 and started him when their quarterback situation grew bleak with injuries to Dak Prescott and Andy Dalton.

In his lone game as a starter, he struggled, completing just 55% of his passes and throwing one touchdown to one interception in a loss. Washington also has Kyle Shurmur, the son of former Eagles coach and current Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, on the active roster.

Rivera made it sound like Kyle Shurmur would be the backup even if Heinicke and Allen aren’t available, which might be a fair evaluation considering the former La Salle high school standout has yet to take a snap in the NFL.

Feeling some deja vu? It’s for good reason.

If Washington goes with Gilbert or Shurmur, it won’t actually be the first time the Eagles face an inexperienced quarterback on a strange Tuesday-night game. In 2010, a severe snowstorm forced the Eagles to reschedule their game against the Minnesota Vikings from Sunday night to Tuesday night. Minnesota’s starting quarterback, a 41-year-old Brett Favre, was injured, so they gave 24-year-old Joe Webb his first career start.

Partly thanks to three turnovers from Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, and partly thanks to Webb, the 10-4 Eagles lost to the 5-9 Vikings.

Although Washington is still waiting to find out which quarterbacks will be available, the team got good news Saturday about its defensive line. Defensive tackle Jonathan Allen and defensive ends Montez Sweat, Casey Toohill, and James Smith-Williams were all activated off the COVID-19 list. The team also activated defensive end Daniel Wise and wide receiver Cam Sims off the list on Sunday.

Allen and Sweat are both quality starters for Washington’s defensive front. Allen has 7.5 sacks this season and Sweat has four. Toohill, the Eagles’ seventh-round pick in 2020, has played 27% of the team’s defensive snaps this year after Washington claimed him off waivers last season when the Eagles tried to sneak him onto the practice squad.

For the Eagles, the team activated wide receiver Quez Watkins and practice squad running back Jason Huntley off the COVID-19 list Sunday, but added starting left guard Landon Dickerson.

Dickerson‘s absence would leave the already depleted depth chart at guard even thinner. Nate Herbig, the third-string right guard behind Brandon Brooks and Jack Driscoll, is already in the lineup with both Brooks and Driscoll on IR. If Dickerson can’t play, Sua Opeta would likely take his spot.