Commanders QB Carson Wentz broke a finger on TNF, availability unknown

Washington Commanders quarterback Carson Wentz is back in the news this week.

Appearing to be in pain during a Thursday Night Football win against the Chicago Bears, the quarterback completed 12 of his 22 pass attempts for 99 passing yards and notably trucked Bears linebacker Roquan Smith. Now multiplereports Saturday confirm that Wentz sustained a fractured ring finger on his throwing hand.

He is reportedly already on his way to see a hand specialist in Los Angeles to establish next steps and determine his availability going forward. One report estimates that Wentz could be out for as many as six weeks. However, that likely will not be confirmed until Monday.

As Wentz recovers, the Commanders could call on former Minnesota Vikings QB Taylor Heinicke to fill in as starting quarterback for their Oct. 23 matchup with the Green Bay Packers.

Heinicke started 15 games for Washington last season, finishing 7-8 and completing 66% of his passes for 3,419 yards with 15 interceptions and 20 touchdowns. Rookie fifth-round pick Sam Howell is the third-string option.

Wentz has a lot going on in Washington

This is another of many headlines for Wentz this week. Commanders head coach Ron Rivera spoke to the media on Monday following the team’s 21-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans and provided “quarterback” as his one-word answer when he was asked why the other three NFC East teams are seemingly ahead of Washington in their respective rebuilding processes. Rivera reportedly went on to apologize to Wentz and the entire team on Tuesday.

After Thursday’s win, Rivera was frustrated about negative Commanders media coverage and denied the ESPN report that Commanders owner Daniel Snyder, not Rivera, had pushed to acquire Wentz last offseason.

These are Rivera’s comments before storming out of the news conference:

Wentz is 7-0 in Thursday Night Football games across his entire career — an impressive niche record, as he has a 64.1 completion percentage with 1,489 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions in those games.