With Jason Campbell still sidelined by a knee injury, Todd Collins is expected to draw the start in Saturday's preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens.
"It's going to be hard for Jason to play in this one, so we'll be going with Todd first," head coach Joe Gibbs said on Thursday.
Collins would be followed by Mark Brunell and then Jordan Palmer in the game, Gibbs said.
In the Redskins' Aug. 30 preseason game at Jacksonville, the team would start Campbell if he is fully recovered from his knee injury. If not, then Brunell would start the game and be followed by Collins and Palmer.
Campbell sat out practice for the third consecutive day this week after he injured his knee in last week's preseason game against Pittsburgh.
Collins, a 13-year veteran, and Brunell, a 14-year veteran, are both vying to be the primary backup to Campbell.
"We'd like to play those guys as much as we can," Gibbs said. "And with Jason--it's a shame he'll miss this week. But it's just a normal process we're going through.
"For me, I always like to see it played out on the field as best you can. It's awful hard to do that at quarterback, because it's hard to get everybody playing time."
Collins has been solid in preseason play, completing 15-of-18 passes for 130 yards and one touchdown, a 7-yarder to Brandon Lloyd.
Brunell has completed 9-of-21 passes for 102 yards, and one interception.
It's likely that the backup job will be decided after the Redskins' preseason finale against Jacksonville. Brunell, of course, played 11 seasons with the Jaguars, so he could get an extended look against his former team.
Asked to assess Collins's play so far this preseason, Gibbs said: "I was very impressed with Todd. In both preseason games so far, he has had opportunities.
"In the [Steelers] game, we missed a route or two, which would have led to him having an even better performance because there would have been some things that would have been wide open.
"He's done a real good job and he's got great composure."
Collins said he is looking forward to the start. He approaches preseason playing time the same every week.
"Last week, I was supposed to go in sometime in the second half, and ended up going in during the first quarter," he said. "So you prepare like you're going to start every week, and then you don't have to worry about it.
As for the backup QB competition, he said: "You're evaluated every time you go out there, so if you go out there you're performing for the job regardless."
