It’s been six weeks since Washington football starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick suffered a hip subluxation, which placed him in the injured reserve. If all went perfectly well, the hope was that he would be about to come back right now.

But sources say that’s not the case.

The 38-year-old is still weeks away from his return, sources say, leaving a WFT side that have lost two in a row and three of their last four to substitute Taylor Heinicke for the foreseeable future. Fitzpatrick is still on crutches around the facility, another sign that his return is not near.

Fitz will have an MRI in the coming weeks – likely next week – but it’s believed he won’t be able to return until at least after the Week 9 exemption on November 7. This means that at least Fitz will miss two. month of the season. And while all parties are hopeful that he will return this season, the rehab has gone slower than expected, and it is not at all certain that he will return to the pitch.

Heinicke impressed in Fitzpatrick’s relief against the Chargers, then led them to a victory over the Giants, scoring 34 of 46 for 336 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. But the Old Dominion product struggled mightily over the next two games, throwing in three picks in total with assisting scores of just 47.6 and 70.7.

“I feel like I just tried to be perfect and try to do a perfect reading in every room,” Heinicke told reporters this week. “It doesn’t really allow me to be who I am or to do my best.”

Meanwhile this week, coach Ron Rivera has expressed confidence in Heinicke, whose job does not appear to be in danger.

“I know last week he had his moments,” Rivera said. “Not every week will be as productive as people want it to be or as we want it to be. We’ll see what happens in the future.”