According to Josh Kendall of The Athletic, the Falcons could be looking to trade veteran QB Taylor Heinicke.
Heinicke admitted to seeing the writing on the wall once the team drafted QB Michael Penix Jr. in the first round of the draft.
Kendall notes that the team has spent time looking for a No. 4 quarterback, bringing in QB Nathan Rourke as a potential practice squad candidate in the case that they opt to move on from Heinicke.
At this point, Kendall thinks the Falcons could possibly get a late-round pick in return for Heinicke, who took a pay cut to remain with the Falcons back in April. The cut lowered his cap number in 2024 from $8.96 million to $4.53 million.
Heinicke had a $1.21 million roster bonus due once the new league year started which was turned into a signing bonus. His base salary was lowered from $5 million to $1.21 million, and he also had a $40,000 per-game roster bonus removed from his contract. If Atlanta were to release him, it would leave them with $3.32 million in dead cap with only $1.21 million in savings.
Heinicke, 31, wound up signing on with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent out of Old Dominion back in 2015. He managed to make the 53-man roster during his rookie season but wasn’t active for a single game.
The Vikings elected to waive Heinicke with an injury designation coming out of the preseason in 2017 before eventually cutting him loose with an injury settlement.
Heinicke had brief stints with the Patriots and Texans before being claimed by the Panthers. Carolina released him coming out of the preseason in 2019 and he signed on to Washington’s practice squad late in 2020. He signed a two-year, $8.75 million extension with Washington in 2021 before signing a two-year deal with the Falcons.
In 2023, Heinicke appeared in five games for the Falcons and completed 74 of 136 pass attempts (54.4 percent) for 890 yards, five touchdowns, and four interceptions. He added 15 carries for 124 yards and a touchdown.
We will have more on Heinicke as it becomes available.
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