John Keim of ESPN reports that Washington QB Alex Smith will be inactive for their playoff game against the Buccaneers, which means Taylor Heinicke gets the start.
Washington has already confirmed the news:
Taylor Heinicke will start at quarterback. Alex Smith is inactive pic.twitter.com/eS4nb6BMqW
— Washington Football Team (@WashingtonNFL) January 9, 2021
Smith has been working his way back from a calm injury he suffered. However, recent reports mentioned that it was likely Heinicke would be under center for Washington this weekend.
Heinicke, 27, wound up signing on with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent out of Old Dominion back in 2015. He managed to make the 53-man roster during his rookie season but wasn’t active for a single game.
The Vikings elected to waive Heinicke with an injury designation coming out of the preseason in 2017 before eventually cutting him loose with an injury settlement.
Heinicke had brief stints on the Patriots and Texans before being claimed by the Panthers last year. Carolina released him coming out of the preseason last year and he just recently signed on to Washington’s practice squad.
In 2020, Heinicke has appeared in one game for Washington and completed 12 of 19 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 22 yards.
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