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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Chargers' Taylor Heinicke: Comes in for injured Herbert
Taylor Heinicke completed his only two passes for 24 yards in Sunday's 20-10 loss to the Steelers after entering the game midway through the third quarter in place of the injured Justin Herbert (ankle).Though he attempted just two passes over a quarter and a half of action, Heinicke took sacks on three of his other dropbacks. Both of the Los Angeles Chargers' starting tackles, Rashawn Slater (pectoral) and Joe Alt (back), suffered injuries Sunday, which didn't help Heinicke's chances of leading the Chargers to a win, even though Herbert departed with the game tied at 10. Given that Herbert was listed as questionable heading into Sunday before aggravating his right high-ankle sprain, the Chargers may be inclined to take a more cautious approach with their franchise signal-caller heading into the Week 4 matchup with the Chiefs. If that's the case, Heinicke could be the preferred choice to step in as a starter rather than Easton Stick, who struggled during the preseason and ultimately wasn't called upon off the bench to replace Herbert in Sunday's contest, despite being active for the contest.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Chargers' Taylor Heinicke: Inactive as third QB
Taylor Heinicke (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Panthers.The quarterback was traded to the Los Angeles Chargers for a conditional sixth-round pick Aug. 28 and sat out Week 1, too. Heinicke appears to be behind Easton Stick on the depth chart at the moment.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Chargers' Taylor Heinicke: Joins Bolts via trade
The Los Angeles Chargers acquired Taylor Heinicke from the Falcons on Wednesday in exchange for a conditional sixth-round draft pick, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports.Heinicke was the odd man out in Atlanta's quarterback room, where both Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix stood firmly above him on the depth chart. He now joins a Los Angeles team that will feel more secure with a more proven option behind Justin Herbert (foot), who recently returned to 7-on-7 work while recovering from a plantar fascia injury. Herbert is expected to be ready for Week 1, but if the Chargers have any concerns about his recovery timetable, Heinicke and Eason Stick could both be in the mix as backup options. Stick is familiar with the offense and looked fine in limited action in 2023, but Heinicke is the more experienced signal-caller, having started 28 games over the last three seasons.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Falcons' Taylor Heinicke: Struggles in exhibition opener
Taylor Heinicke completed four of 11 passes for 11 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions and netted no gain on two carries in the Atlanta Falcons' 20-13 preseason loss to the Dolphins on Friday night. He also fumbled once but recovered.Heinicke was the second quarterback in after rookie eighth overall pick Michael Penix, entering the game with 6:34 remaining in the second quarter. The veteran signal-caller was partly victimized by playing with second- and third-string offensive linemen and skill players, helping explain his forgettable passing line. Nevertheless, Heinicke appears to still have a clear lead in his battle with recent arrival Nathan Rourke for the No. 3 quarterback job, and both players should once again see time in the Falcons' second exhibition game Aug. 17 against the Ravens.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Falcons' Taylor Heinicke: Accepts pay cut
Taylor Heinicke took a pay cut in March to stay with the Atlanta Falcons, reducing his $5 million base salary to $1.21 million, ESPN.com's Michael Rothstein reports.He also converted a $1.32 million roster bonus to a signing bonus and agreed to remove the $40,000 per-game roster bonuses from his contract. He's left with $2.53 million in real-money compensation for the second and final year of his deal, with a $4.53 million cap hit. Heinicke is in excellent position for the backup QB role behind Kirk Cousins, after Desmond Ridder was traded to Arizona for Rondale Moore in mid-March. The Falcons still have time to bring in competition, but it may not be a priority given that Heinicke's track record suggests he's qualified for the second spot on the depth chart. They'll at least need to bring in a camp arm or two, seeing as Cousins and Heinicke are the only QBs on the roster at the beginning of April.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Falcons' Taylor Heinicke: Future in Atlanta murky
Taylor Heinicke is poised to drop to No. 3 on Atlanta's depth chart with the team slated to sign Kirk Cousins (Achilles), Michael Rothstein of ESPN reports.Cutting Heinicke would save the Atlanta Falcons roughly $7 million against the cap, with just $2 million in dead money, a move that seems like a no-brainer in the wake of Cousins' signing. Even if Atlanta is concerned about its new franchise quarterback's Week 1 availability, the team still has Desmond Ridder under contract on his affordable rookie deal. Heinicke finished 2023 as the starter over Ridder, but both signal-callers were ultimately unimpressive. The Falcons will avoid paying Heinicke a $1.3 million roster bonus if he's cut or traded prior to March 17.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Falcons' Taylor Heinicke: Listed as emergency QB
Taylor Heinicke (ankle) is inactive for Sunday's matchup against the Saints, but he'll operate as the emergency quarterback, Tori McElhaney of the Atlanta Falcons' official site reports.Heinicke was deemed questionable after logging three limited sessions during Week 18 prep but will ultimately be inactive for the regular-season finale due to an ankle injury he aggravated versus Chicago in Week 17. He started the season as Desmond Ridder's backup, but Heinicke eventually claimed a starting role and appeared in five games this season, completing 54.5 percent of his passes for 890 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions. Ridder will start versus New Orleans, while Logan Woodside is the primary backup. If both Ridder and Woodside are forced out of Sunday's game due to injuries, Heinicke would be eligible to play, though it's unclear how mobile he'd be given his lower-body injury.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Falcons' Taylor Heinicke: Aiming to play Sunday
Taylor Heinicke (ankle) remains questionable for Sunday's game against the Saints but is hopeful to play, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.Heinicke exited late in last week's loss to the Bears after aggravating a left ankle injury, but he was able to practice in a limited fashion Wednesday through Friday to build optimism about his chances of playing in the regular-season finale. The signal-caller is still seemingly being viewed as a game-time decision ahead of Sunday's 1 p.m. ET kickoff, as the Atlanta Falcons want to see how he fares from a mobility standpoint in a pregame warmup before signing off on him making his fifth start of the season. Over his five appearances to date, Heinicke has completed 74 of 136 passes (54.4 percent) for 6.5 yards per attempt, five touchdowns and four interceptions while adding 15 carries for 124 yards and a score.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Falcons' Taylor Heinicke: Gets questionable tag for Week 18
The Atlanta Falcons list Taylor Heinicke (ankle) as questionable for Sunday's game against the Saints, Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' official site reports.Heinicke has been a limited participant in practices this week after he was forced out of this past Sunday's loss to Chicago after aggravating a left ankle injury. The 30-year-old could be shaping up as a true game-day decision for Week 18, as head coach Arthur Smith said the quarterback would go through a workout Sunday before a determination on his status is made ahead of the game's 1 p.m. ET kickoff. If Heinicke can't play in New Orleans, Desmond Ridder would presumably step in as the Falcons' starting signal-caller.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Falcons' Taylor Heinicke: Another limited practice
Taylor Heinicke (ankle) practiced in a limited fashion Thursday, Amna Subhan of the Atlanta Falcons' official site reports.Heinicke exited late during this past Sunday's loss at Chicago, and the reason for the decision was revealed to be an ankle injury by coach Arthur Smith on Monday, per Tori McElhaney of the team's official site. Atlanta is hoping to know by Friday whether or not Heinicke will be able to play Sunday in New Orleans, but consecutive capped sessions to kick off the week has yet to shed any light on the situation. In the meantime, the team is preparing Desmond Ridder to start if needed this weekend, and Friday's injury report will reveal if Heinicke enters it with a designation or cleared to suit up.