Taylor Heinicke Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports that the Commanders are expected to start QB Taylor Heinicke against Dallas in the season finale. But he adds that rookie QB Sam Howell "is also slated to play." Take this news as an admission from HC Ron Rivera that he was wrong to start Carson Wentz in the Week 17 loss to Cleveland. With Washington now eliminated from playoff contention, though, it would seem to make more sense to just play the rookie the whole way. The reported plan, of course, makes both QBs unusable in fantasy football lineups. And the whole situation adds risk to Washington pass-catchers. We're not changing our outlook for RB Brian Robinson Jr., though. Check out the adjusted Week 18 fantasy football rankings.

The Commanders will start QB Carson Wentz on Sunday against the Browns. According to multiple reports, HC Ron Rivera told the team his decision Wednesday morning. Wentz relieved Taylor Heinicke in Saturday's loss to the 49ers, completing 75% of his throws for 123 yards (7.68 per attempt) and a TD. His last start came in the Week 6 win at Chicago in which Wentz broke a finger and required surgery. Washington threw the ball a lot more with Wentz behind center, averaging 42 pass attempts across his 5 healthy outings compared with 30.1 over Heinicke's 8 full games. Of course, the offense also barely had RB Brian Robinson Jr. for that stretch. We'd expect more of a rushing lean vs. those 1st 5 weeks -- but also likely some more willingness to throw. It's not an exciting fantasy offense either way. Wentz's time this season has been bad for WR Terry McLaurin's target share. He drew just 16% over the 1st 6 games, compared with 27.8% in Heinicke's full outings.

The Commanders removed QB Taylor Heinicke from the 2nd half of Saturday's loss to the 49ers, replacing him with Carson Wentz. Heinicke completed 13 of 18 throws for 166 yards (9.2 per attempt), 2 TDs and 1 INT. He also lost a fumble. Wentz completed 12 of 16 passes for 123 yards (7.7 per attempt) and 1 TD. HC Ron Rivera told reporters after the game that he's not sure who he'll start in Week 17 against the Browns.

Commanders QB Taylor Heinicke put forth a gutsy effort, completing 17 of 28 attempts for 249 yards and 1 TD in Sunday's loss to the Giants. Heinicke also added 33 yards on the ground. A few penalties cost Heinicke and the Commanders both real-life and fantasy points, but managers that perhaps streamed the signal-caller in superflex leagues can feel okay about the results. However, Week 16 will not be an ideal time to consider Heinicke as the Commanders are preparing for a showdown against a 49ers defense that ranks as the 3rd-toughest matchup for QBs this season. You'd have to be insanely desperate or manage an injury-riddled roster to go with Heinicke next week.

Commanders QB Carson Wentz (finger) has been activated from IR. We'll see about Washington's plan at QB, but we expect QB Taylor Heinicke to at least start this weekend's game vs. the Giants. He's been up and down over the past 7 games but has led the Commanders to 5 wins. Wentz went 2-4 over the first 6 games of the season. The biggest fantasy impact here is with WR Terry McLaurin, who's been much more productive with Heinicke.

Update: NFL Network's Ian Rapoport confirms that Wentz is returning as Heinicke's backup.

Commanders QB Taylor Heinicke threw for 275 yards and 2 TDs in Sunday's tie with the Giants. He found WR Terry McLaurin and WR Jahan Dotson for TDs. Heinicke threw no INTs in the game but fumbled twice, losing 1. He also took 5 sacks. Washington gets a Week 14 bye before a rematch with the Giants.

The Commanders have designated QB Carson Wentz to return to practice. That leaves 3 weeks to decide whether to activate him from IR. Wentz has been out since injuring his throwing hand in the Week 6 win at Chicago. HC Ron Rivera has recently expressed confidence in QB Taylor Heinicke, though, amid a 4-1 stretch with him behind center. Don't bet on Washington going back to Wentz until/unless the team starts losing more (barring injury, of course). Heinicke's arrival has been good for WR Terry McLaurin's target shares, but the team passing numbers are way down from where they were with Wentz: from 248.2 yards per game to 206.2.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that the Commanders will continue starting QB Taylor Heinicke. QB Carson Wentz is reportedly not yet ready to return from his finger injury, but the team plans to stick with Heinicke even after Wentz is ready. It makes sense. The team is 3-1 with Heinicke behind center this season, 2-4 with Wentz. The latter, however, does hold edges in TD rate, INT rate and passer rating. Heinicke leads Wentz in QBR and yards per attempt. He has also been good for WR Terry McLaurin's target counts, whereas Wentz's presence boosted Curtis Samuel.

Commanders WR Terry McLaurin led the team in targets for the 2nd straight game in Sunday's loss to the Vikings. He caught 5 of 9 for 56 yards. WR Curtis Samuel beat him in receiving yards, taking his 3 catches for 65 yards and a TD. His 49-yard score accounted for most of that, though, and came on an absurd play. QB Taylor Heinicke threw a deep ball into triple coverage. One of the Minnesota CBs ran into an official, while the other 2 misplayed the ball. That allowed Samuel to make a catch going to the ground and then roll into the end zone. Heinicke totaled just 149 passing yards for the game. His other TD pass went to WR Dax Milne. Washington visits Philadelphia next Monday night.

Commanders QB Taylor Heinicke went 23-of-31 passing (74.2%) for 279 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT in Sunday's win over the Colts. He also ran for Washington's other TD amid a 6-29-1 rushing day. The QB tied WR Curtis Samuel for the team lead in rushing yards. A generous Vikings pass defense awaits in Week 9, making Heinicke a potential streaming option for fantasy football lineups.

Commanders WR Terry McLaurin tied WR Curtis Samuel for the team target lead (8) in Sunday's win over the Packers. That marked the 1st time this season that McLaurin didn't trail Samuel, coinciding with the 1st start for QB Taylor Heinicke in place of Carson Wentz. McLaurin caught 5 balls for 73 yards and a TD, 1 of 2 Heinicke threw. Samuel also caught 5 balls for 53 yards and added 26 rushing yards on 5 carries. Washington heads to Indy in Week 8.

The Commanders have placed QB Carson Wentz on IR for his recovery from finger surgery. That means he’ll miss at least the next 4 games. We already knew Taylor Heinicke would start this week against the Packers. Now the job is likely his for at least the next month. We’ll see whether Heinicke can command time beyond that with his play — or whether rookie QB Sam Howell gets into the mix

Commanders QB Carson Wentz is expected to miss "roughly" 4-6 weeks with the fractured ring finger on his right hand, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. We'll see if Wentz lands on IR, but he can be dropped from all rosters in 1-QB fantasy leagues. Wentz hasn't been great through 6 weeks, completing 62% of his passes for just 6.4 yards per attempt. He sits 24th among 32 qualifiers in Pro Football Focus' passing grades. Washington will now turn QB Taylor Heinicke, which might just be a lateral move. We'll see if Heinicke can get more out of WR Terry McLaurin, who's seen just 16% of Commanders targets so far. 5th-round rookie QB Sam Howell is also on this roster and might hit the field at some point if Heinicke struggles.

Commanders QB Carson Wentz suffered a fractured finger on his throwing hand in Thursday night's win over the Bears, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Wentz will visit a hand specialist to determine next steps. "His availability moving forward is up in the air," Rapoport adds. QB Taylor Heinicke is listed as Washington's backup, but 5th-round rookie QB Sam Howell is also waiting in the wings.

The Commanders grabbed North Carolina QB Sam Howell with the 1st pick of Round 5. Howell started all 3 years at Chapel Hill, opening his career impressively with 3,641 passing yards and 38 TDs as a freshman and 3,586 yards and 30 TDs as a sophomore. He took a considerable step back this past season, though, finishing with 3,056 yards and 24 TDs. Losing Javonte Williams, Michael Carter, Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome to the NFL certainly played a part, but Howell also set a 3-year low in Pro Football Focus passing grade. Howell did set career highs with 828 rushing yards and 11 TDs in 2021, though. He has plenty of arm strength and might be the best deep-ball thrower in this year’s QB class. Howell is also entering the NFL at just 21 years old, so there’s upside here. He’ll compete with Taylor Heinicke for Washington’s backup job behind Carson Wentz at least to open this season. But Howell has the potential to develop into the Commanders’ starter down the road.

Washington HC Ron Rivera said Monday that QB Taylor Heinicke will start this weekend's game vs. the Eagles but that QB Kyle Allen will "probably" play. Heinicke has bottomed out in his last 2 appearances, completing just 38.3% of his passes for 5.2 yards per attempt. This is obviously a situation to avoid in Week 17 fantasy lineups.