COVID-19 is running through the NFL right now and the Washington Football Team is being hit particularly hard.
The team, or Team, has over 20 players who have tested positive and the worst news of all came out Friday.
With Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen now on Reserve/COVID list, here are the WFT QBs:
🏈Garrett Gilbert
🏈Kyle Shurmur
🏈Jordan Ta’amuWFT unlikely to name a starter until pregame Sunday, per source. https://t.co/L6QS1VMfgK
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 17, 2021
Both Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen are out with COVID, leaving head coach Ron Rivera with a tough decision to make.
The team just signed Garrett Gilbert off New England’s practice squad.
If he is indeed the favorite to start, he has to get into town and spend the next 48 hours learning the playbook.
An Incredibly Difficult Spot
Positive COVID tests seem to be coming out by the hour all over the NFL.
Yet there appears to be no intention to postpone any games.
The logic behind that decision is a whole other discussion.
There is still a chance that Allen can return, given he is vaccinated, but he would need to return a negative test very soon.
Take a look at your #WashingtonFootball QBs on the practice field today:
Garrett Gilbert (19), Jordan Ta'amu (12) and Kyle Shurmur (6)
Both Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen are currently on the Reserve/Covid-19 list@nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/jOVLAaIYqM
— NBC4 Sports (@NBC4Sports) December 17, 2021
The same is technically true for Heinicke, but highly unlikely given he just returned a positive test.
From a strictly football standpoint, this is a terrible blow to Washington’s playoff chances.
They are 6-7 and lead a five-way tie for the seventh and final spot in the NFC playoff picture.
Washington is set to take on a 6-7 Philadelphia Eagles team and will do so extremely shorthanded.
There may even be more positive tests that come out at this rate.
This is true all over the NFL and taking a week off seems to be a move that would make sense.
However, the 2020 season was played during the height of the pandemic and before vaccines were available and the NFL still forced teams to play shorthanded.
2021 may just be a year where contending teams lucky enough to avoid a COVID outbreak get an advantage.
NEXT: 3 Reasons Washington Should Keep Taylor Heinicke For The Long Term