Washington Football Team QB Room: What If It Goes Unchanged?

ASHBURN, Va. -- With Taylor Heinicke back in the fold and under contract for 2021 and 2022, is it possible the Washington Football Team could return the same quarterback room that they ended 2021 with?

Alex Smith, Taylor Heinicke, Kyle Allen and Steven Montez. How does that sound?

READ MORE: Taylor Heinicke's Back!

It doesn't feel like it would be a popular solution to WFT fans outside of Heinicke, who has played all of one-plus games but instantly became more popular than any QB option in Washington since Robert Griffin III.

That's the problem with this somewhat hypothetical question: The only guy of the four that seemingly has any potential significant upside is Heinicke.

Smith doesn't have that anymore. Allen could possibly bring that if he can stay healthy and dodge the pass rush without getting injured. That injury scenario happened twice in 2020 and ended his season prematurely.

Montez was in the system all year. The young prospect practiced and almost played in the playoff game but still has not made one single throw in a game of any kind.

At this point, this scenario - bringing the gang back - might seem unlikely, in part simply because coach Ron Rivera and company aspire to more. But it's far from impossible.

Heinicke's return allows the Washington Football Team to be more selective and less desperate for a stud. It doesn't eliminate that search but it's more likely that a Mitchell Trubisky, a Cam Newton, a Tyrod Taylor or that sort veteran passer could be added to the mix ... while subtracting Smith (and his cap ballast) from the room.

It's hard to envision Washington putting all their chips in on Deshaun Watson, or overpaying with a bunch of resources for Derek Carr. We can make a case for the Jets' Sam Darnold; he is intriguing and might cost less than Carr, but he's not absolutely available.

Smith could, of course, return at a dramatically reduced cap number and situation.

READ MORE: Smith's Comeback Complete

If Washington swings big and strikes out, perhaps they go back to Smith if they have no other choice. If that scenario unfolds, that's a foursome banding together for a 2021 NFL season against a much tougher schedule than it faced last year, with of course the now-departed Dwayne Haskins as part of that old mix.

"Bring the gang back?'' Though the WFT, as defending NFC East champs, has a great deal going for it, that doesn't exactly inspire a whole lot of confidence.

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