Former Commanders’ fan favorite, Taylor Heinicke, was traded Wednesday by the Atlanta Falcons.
This past offseason, the Falcons signed Kirk Cousins in free agency and drafted Michael Pennix in the first round. So Wednesday, the Falcons decided to trade Heinicke to Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Falcons will receive a conditional sixth-round draft choice in the 2025 NFL draft. The Chargers quarterback room was in a bit of a quandary. They had cut Luis Perez, while Easton Stick had an unimpressive preseason. If that wasn’t enough, starter Justin Herbert has been battling plantar fasciitis.
Herbert is practicing and working through it, but the Chargers saw they needed someone with actual regular-season experience who could learn the offense quickly.
Commanders fans will recall that then-head coach Ron Rivera had released quarterback Dwayne Haskins, Alex Smith was injured as his heavily damaged leg was wearing down in December, and Heinicke, who was taking classes toward an engineering master’s degree, was signed by Washington.
Heinicke dove in head-first, learned the offense, and started the 2020 playoff game against Tampa Bay. He passed for one touchdown and one interception. The former Old Dominion Monarch quarterback also executed perhaps the most exciting play by a Washington quarterback since the 2012 Robert Griffin season.
TAYLOR HEINICKE SHOWS OFF HIS WHEELS FOR SIX 💨
(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/GvJpLhZz1Z
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 10, 2021
He struggled with consistency too often in his three seasons with Washington (2020-22), but certainly no one will argue that Taylor Heinicke was a leader on the team and made some fantastic plays while with the Commanders.
Here’s 3 minutes of Taylor Heinicke highlights, a Washington Football Team legend 👀🍿#RaiseHail pic.twitter.com/5slLZrgDxA
— Wam ✞ (@AllProWam) June 20, 2024
