Washington Wisely Signs A 'Quarantine QB'

The Washington Football Team has agreed to terms with QB Tyler Heinicke, an emergency QB that is plenty familiar to the offensive staff.

ASHBURN, Va. - The Washington Football Team has itself a new quarterback in the building - well, once he can get in the building after passing COVID protocols.

It's Taylor Heinicke, who has spent time with a number of NFL teams including (you guessed it) the Carolina Panthers.

Heinicke also was with the St. Louis Battlehawks of the XFL and some in the Commonwealth of Virginia will remember him for his days at Old Dominion.

The connections are obviously from his time with the Panthers and coaches Ron Rivera and Scott Turner and much of the offensive staff.

READ & LISTEN: Antonio Gibson - We're Putting It Together

Heinicke goes back further with WFT coordinator Turner, who was the quarterbacks coach in Minnesota when Heinicke was signed as an undrafted free agent.

He never actually played in the regular season in Minnesota before catching on with New England's practice squad for a couple of weeks and then on to Houston.

Finally, on Christmas Day in 2017, Heinicke made his NFL debut, replacing a quarterback with a possible concussion and then promptly suffered one himself.

From there it was on to Charlotte where he actually started a game late in 2018 for an injured Cam Newton and somehow was forced to throw 53 times and wound up with three picks on the day.

Much like his first NFL appearance, Heinicke got injured and was replaced by (wait for it), Kyle Allen, who can't stay healthy, either.

Heinicke never actually played in the XFL and has been out of work for a while but familiarity with Turner and most of the staff allows him to fill a vital role: The emergency COVID quarterback, as the Washington Post was first to report.

Or, as we call it around here, the "QQ'' - "Quarantine Quarterback.''

READ MORE: A COVID Fiasco Forces WFT vs. Steelers to Monday.

Heinicke must pass his nearly week long COVID protocol testing before being officially singed to the practice squad, which should occur on Monday, when Washington visits Pittsburgh.

The trick will be this: Teaching him what he needs to re-learn about the system and terminology without him really being able to fully practice with teammates - because the whole idea is not have him around anyone that could get him sick. (That's the problem experienced by the Broncos last week.)

Earlier Tuesday, the WFT also signed two offensive tackles to the practice squad, Timon Parris and Rick Leonard. 

Parris had been with the team in training camp but was released and quickly snapped up by the Atlanta Falcons. He was then picked up by the Cleveland Browns. 

Leonard, a Maryland native, is a hulking 6-7 product of Florida State, who was a fourth-round pick of the Saints in 2018. He's also had two stints with Arizona and was also with the Rams and Houston.