Football Team's Garrett Gilbert: Trending toward starting Tuesday

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Gilbert appears to be in line to start Tuesday's game against the Eagles, as fellow quarterbacks Taylor Heinicke (illness) and Kyle Allen (illness) both remain in Washington D.C. and don't appear on track to gain clearance from the reserve/COVID-19 list ahead of the 7 p.m. EST kickoff, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Of the two quarterbacks, Allen is the better bet to get cleared for the Week 15 contest, as he tested positive for the virus last Wednesday, two days before Heinicke. Ultimately, though, the more likely outcome is that neither is reinstated from the reserve/COVID-19 list, though Washington may take it up until the 4 p.m. deadline for roster moves to see if either can clear the necessary protocols. In such a scenario, Allen and/or Heinicke would then have to arrange a private flight to Philadelphia, which provides another potential complication. Though Gilbert was signed off the Patriots' practice squad Friday, he has some familiarity with Washington head coach Ron Rivera's game plans from their time together in Carolina in 2018. Gilbert has only seen action in seven regular-season games since entering the professional ranks in 2014, but that's enough experience to give him the edge on the starting role over Kyle Shurmur, who is expected to be elevated from the practice squad later Monday to serve as Gilbert's backup if Allen and Heinicke are both unavailable.