Comment Taylor Heinicke will start for the Washington Commanders on Sunday when they face the Texans (1-7-1) in Houston, coach Ron Rivera announced Wednesday. Carson Wentz has been cleared to resume throwing, Rivera said, but the veteran has not yet been cleared to return to practice. Rivera indicated that Wentz would have to practice before the team considers him a starter or backup for a game. Sunday’s decision effectively delays, at least for a week, the quarterback’s biggest decision for Washington. Rivera said whichever quarterback is selected as the starting quarterback will step into the role with the assurance that the team is committed to him. Mostly. “I don’t want them looking over their shoulder,” Rivera said Tuesday. “I want them to understand that this is the opportunity and this is where we’re going to take it.” However, the coach qualified his statement, knowing that much can change from week to week. “It’s all one game at a time,” Rivera said. “I can’t make it. We will focus on winning one game at a time.” Once starved for turnovers, the Chiefs defense is now feasting Rivera said Wednesday that Wentz flew onto the field with coaches — the rest of the team got a ride in the indoor bubble — but the coach did not give a timeline for when the quarterback might be designated to return. Should Wentz be unable to be the backup on Sunday, rookie Sam Howell will continue as the No. 2 behind Heinicke. Heinicke took over as the Commanders’ starter in Week 7 after Wentz broke his finger in the win over the Bears in Week 6. The team placed Wentz on injured reserve, requiring him to miss at least four weeks, and Heinicke immediately led Washington to wins over the Green Bay Packers at FedEx Field and the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Commanders (5-5) narrowly lost to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 9 but bounced back to hand the Eagles their first loss of the season in Philadelphia on Monday night, a win that moved Washington into eighth place in the NFC. “You want to continue to see consistency in what he does and how he does things,” Rivera said of Heinicke. “You want to continue to see him take everything there is. Sometimes, he tends to want to try to impose it in certain places, but he’s done a good job, he really has, and the guys have rallied around him.” How the Governors’ offense woke up and dominated the Eagles In four starts this season, Heinicke has completed nearly 62 percent of his passes for an average of 210 yards per game and an 82.7 passer rating. “We have time,” Rivera said. “This is on our side. [Heinicke’s] he did some good things, and we’ll see how it goes this week, but for me, it’s part of having to make a decision. You have to be realistic, you have to watch and see, and that’s what we did.” Defensive end Chase Young’s return timeline also remains uncertain. Rivera said Young fully participated in the team’s indoor practice Wednesday and the team will gauge his status based on how his body feels Thursday. Young has missed more than a year recovering from a knee injury suffered in Week 10 last season. The Commanders designated him to return from the physically unable to perform list on Nov. 2 and now have until Nov. 23 to activate him. It’s possible they’ll wait until the deadline before bringing him back. Once he returns, Young will have limited snaps and the team will monitor him closely, Rivera said. “The big part of it is, especially right now, you want to get as close to live action as you can, and you really can’t,” Rivera said. “So we have to try to figure out how he can get so many good reps over the next couple of days to get a good gauge of where he’s at.”
