Washington places QB Ryan Fitzpatrick on IR with hip injury

It was the fear Sunday, but now it’s official. Washington quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick suffered a hip subluxation during the team’s loss to the Chargers on Sunday, head coach Ron Rivera confirmed.

Rivera announced that Fitzpatrick will be placed on injured reserve, sidelining him for at least the next three games. That means that it’ll be Taylor Heinicke under center when Washington takes the field in just a few days for a "Thursday Night Football" game against the Giants. It also means it’ll be Heinicke leading the team for the foreseeable future. If there’s any good news, it’s that Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets that there’s “no indication yet that it’s season ending.”

Rivera said FitzMagic is getting second opinions to determine the severity. For now it’ll be Kyle Allen backing up Heinicke. Washington is coming off a division title and had high expectations for this season, leading many to speculate the team could look to add a veteran signal-caller.

Recently released Cam Newton, of course, is very well acquainted with Rivera from their days in Carolina together, although it looks like for now the plan is to roll with Heinicke and see how he fares. Beat reporters at the press conference say Rivera was firm about staying in-house for now. If the former undrafted free agent struggles, then it wouldn’t be surprising for Washington to look outside the building.

It’s a tough blow for Fitz, who was injured in the first half of the first game with his new team. He’ll turn 39 in November, so it’s fair to wonder how easy of a recovery this will be for him. Here’s to hoping he gets back as soon as possible.