Report: WFT's Ryan Fitzpatrick out 6-to-8 weeks with hip injury originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
There’s a silver lining to Ryan Fitzpatrick’s hip injury: It is not season ending.
The Washington Football Team quarterback is expected to miss six-to-eight weeks, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Fitzpatrick was placed on Injured Reserve earlier on Monday, meaning the 38-year-old will miss a minimum of three weeks. Washington head coach Ron Rivera declined to give a timeline for Fitzpatrick’s return when meeting with the media via Zoom on Monday, either.
“I don’t know yet,” Rivera said.
Rivera did say that Fitzpatrick will be getting a second opinion on the injury, though, to make sure they “get as good an answer as to what’s going on so that we know how to handle everything going forward from that point.”
With Fitzpatrick sidelined for the foreseeable future, Taylor Heinicke will be Washington’s starter with Kyle Allen serving as the backup. Rivera emphasized that the team has no plans of bringing in another free agent quarterback at this time.
“No, as of now, no,” Rivera said. “We’ve got a short week. We’ll get through the week and we’ll go from there.”
If Fitzpatrick were able to return in six weeks, that would be on Oct. 24 against the Packers. Washington plays Denver the following week on Halloween before its Week 9 bye. Washington faces the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Nov. 14 after its bye week.
Although Washington is now down its starting quarterback, Rivera is looking forward to seeing how his team responds with Heinicke under center.
“I think it will be cool. I really do. I think our guys will rally around him,” Rivera said. “It’s just one of those things that some guys have an innate ability to create some enthusiasm, some excitement. That’s kind of the bit about Taylor because of the way he plays. He plays a little bit like his hair is on fire. He plays a little bit like a gunslinger. … I’m excited to see what’s going to happen.”
