Sam Howell will start running for the captains in Week 18

Earlier on Wednesday, a report indicated that leaders were once again switching to Taylor Hynek To start Their final game of the season is against the Cowboys.

We now know that the report was wrong.

Washington head coach Ron Rivera announced in his press conference Wednesday that the rookie Sam Howell He will be the QB1 of the team’s final season.

Heinicke will act as a backup during Carson Wentz He was demoted to the No. 3 quarterback after starting in last week’s loss to Cleveland.

Rivera noted that Heinicke would likely start if Washington was not eliminated in the postseason race. And that first career tends to be a kind of circus in certain situations.

“At the end of the day, at some point, if Sam gets a chance to be a rookie, that will be the chance — why not just end it now and go from there?” Rivera said, via Nikki Gabvala of Washington Post. “But the most important thing is that we’re really fascinated to watch and see what Sam can do as a quarterback. in this league. “

The Chiefs selected Howell with the 144th overall pick in the fifth round of the 2022 draft. He hasn’t appeared so far this season, but he completed 62.3 percent of his passes for 547 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception in the preseason. He also rushed for 94 yards with a pair of TDs.

Wentz returns to the bench after posting a 31.4 passer rating and three picks in Week 17. The Captains were eliminated from the playoffs after the loss and other Sunday results.

Heinicke went 5-3-1 as a starter this season, completing 62.2 percent of his passes for 1,859 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions.