Taylor Heinicke
#2 QB,
Chargers
ACTUAL 2022
116 FPTS
RANK: 30
2023 SEASON
52 FPTS
RANK: 36
AGE
30 yrs
HEIGHT/WEIGHT
6'1'' / 210 lbs
COLLEGE
Old Dominion
| SEASON | GP | FPTS | RANK | PAATT | PACMP | PAYD | PATD | PAINT | COMP% | RUATT | RUYD | RUTD |
| 2023 | 3 | 52 | 36th | 91 | 56 | 622 | 3 | 2 | 61.5 | 10 | 47 | 1 |
| 2022 | 9 | 116 | 30th | 259 | 161 | 1,859 | 12 | 6 | 62.2 | 28 | 96 | 1 |
| 3yr Ave | 9 | 119 | 37th | 256 | 166 | 1778 | 10 | 8 | 65% | 32 | 168 | 0 |
Comes in for injured Herbert
Published: 2024-09-22
Heinicke completed his only two passes for 24 yards in Sunday's loss to the Steelers after entering the game late in the second half for Justin Herbert, who was spotted leaving the stadium in a walking boot.
Heinicke technically attempted only two passes, but he dropped back far more only to destroyed by the blitzkrieg that was the Steelers defense. Both starting tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt appeared to suffer injuries in this one, so it's possible the Chargers could be extra cautious with their franchise quarterback, allotting more time for Heinicke to play in the coming weeks. The long-time veteran joined the team late in the preseason, but he came on in relief instead of multi-year backup Easton Stick, who struggled mightily in preseason action.
Fantasy Points by Week 2022
Weekly Stats 2022
| Fantasy Points | Betting | Passing Stats | Rushing Stats | Advanced Passing Stats | Targets | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| WEEK | STADIUM | GAME | RANK | SPREAD | O/U | ATT | CMP | YD | TD | INT | COMP% | RATING | ATT | YD | TD | AIR | CATCH | 20YD+ | PLAY | WR | RB | TE | |||||
| 7 GB | Outdoor 59° | 14.4 | 14th | 3.5 | 41.5 | 33 | 20 | 201 | 2 | 1 | 60.6 | 85.5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 64% | 50% | 14% | 58% | 24% | 15% | |||||
| 8 @IND | Dome 57° | 22.1 | 8th | 3.0 | 40.5 | 31 | 23 | 279 | 1 | 1 | 74.2 | 98.7 | 6 | 29 | 1 | 5 | 74% | 50% | 28% | 48% | 39% | 10% | |||||
| 9 MIN | Outdoor 71° | 13.7 | 15th | 3.0 | 43.5 | 28 | 15 | 149 | 2 | 1 | 53.6 | 77.8 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 54% | 33% | 40% | 57% | 18% | 18% | |||||
| 10 @PHI | Outdoor 43° | 5.4 | 28th | 11.0 | 44.5 | 29 | 17 | 211 | 0 | 1 | 58.6 | 66.9 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 59% | 20% | 32% | 62% | 10% | 14% | |||||
| 11 @HOU | Dome 51° | 7.8 | 23rd | -3.0 | 40.5 | 27 | 15 | 191 | 0 | 0 | 55.6 | 77.9 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 63% | 0% | 17% | 44% | 11% | 30% | |||||
| 12 ATL | Outdoor 46° | 11.4 | 25th | -3.5 | 42.5 | 23 | 14 | 138 | 2 | 1 | 60.9 | 88.7 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 6 | 65% | 0% | 21% | 35% | 26% | 35% | |||||
| 13 @NYG | Outdoor 40° | 17.6 | 8th | -2.5 | 40.5 | 41 | 27 | 275 | 2 | 0 | 65.9 | 101.2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 66% | 29% | 31% | 73% | 15% | 10% | |||||
| 15 NYG | Outdoor 35° | 13.3 | 19th | -4.0 | 39.5 | 29 | 17 | 249 | 1 | 0 | 58.6 | 98.2 | 3 | 33 | 0 | 10 | 62% | 33% | 29% | 66% | 17% | 10% | |||||
| 16 @SF | Outdoor 54° | 10.2 | 23rd | 6.0 | 39.5 | 18 | 13 | 166 | 2 | 1 | 72.2 | 114.6 | 2 | -4 | 0 | 10 | 78% | 67% | 14% | 72% | 17% | 11% | |||||
Performance Splits: 2020 to 2022
| Fantasy Points | Passing Averages | Rushing Averages | |||||||||||||||
| LOCATION | STADIUM | GP | GS | GM | RANK | YD | TD | INT | COMP% | RATING | AIR | CATCH | 20YD+ | YD | TD | ||
| Home | Outdoor | 13 | 11 | 12.2 | 33rd | 201 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 64.3 | 84.9 | 68% | 32% | 5 | 14 | 0.0 | ||
| Away | Outdoor | 8 | 8 | 14.4 | 25th | 216 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 63.6 | 89.9 | 66% | 31% | 6 | 21 | 0.1 | ||
| Away | Dome | 1 | 1 | 14.8 | 30th | 196 | 2.0 | 1 | 76.7 | 101.5 | 77% | 0% | 5 | 10 | 0.0 | ||
| Away | Retractable Dome | 4 | 4 | 15.6 | 26th | 220 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 60.2 | 88.4 | 65% | 42% | 6 | 18 | 0.3 | ||
Career Stats by Season: 2017 to 2022
| Fantasy Points | Passing Stats | Rushing Stats | Advanced Passing Stats | Targets | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | GP | GS | TOTAL | RANK | ATT | CMP | YD | TD | INT | CMP% | RATING | ATT | YD | TD | AIR | CATCH | 20YD+ | PLAY | WR | RB | TE | ||||
| 2017 | 24 | HOU | 1 | 0 | 1 | 65th | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 100.0 | 108.3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 100% | 0% | - | 100% | 0% | 0% | ||||
| 2018 | 25 | CAR | 6 | 1 | 14 | 50th | 57 | 35 | 320 | 1 | 3 | 61.4 | 60.6 | 5 | 31 | 0 | 4.9 | 61% | 20% | - | 61% | 25% | 11% | ||||
| 2020 | 27 | undefined | 1 | 0 | 12 | 58th | 19 | 12 | 137 | 1 | 0 | 63.2 | 102.3 | 3 | 22 | 0 | 7.3 | 68% | 20% | - | 53% | 16% | 32% | ||||
| 2021 | 28 | undefined | 16 | 15 | 223 | 20th | 494 | 321 | 3,419 | 20 | 15 | 65.0 | 85.9 | 60 | 313 | 1 | 5.2 | 69% | 33% | 23% | 56% | 23% | 18% | ||||
| 2022 | 29 | WAS | 9 | 9 | 116 | 30th | 259 | 161 | 1,859 | 12 | 6 | 62.2 | 89.6 | 28 | 96 | 1 | 6.7 | 65% | 35% | 26% | 58% | 20% | 16% | ||||
Inactive as third QB
Published: 2024-09-15
Heinicke (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Panthers.
The quarterback was traded to the 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.
Joins Bolts via trade
Published: 2024-08-28
The Falcons traded Heinicke to the Chargers on Wednesday, 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, and he now joins a Los Angeles team that will feel more secure with proven options 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 last season, but Heinicke is the more experienced signal-caller, having started 28 games over the last three years.
Struggles in exhibition opener
Published: 2024-08-09
Heinicke completed four of 11 passes for 11 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions and netted no gain on two carries in the 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.
Accepts pay cut
Published: 2024-04-02
Heinicke took a pay cut in March to stay with the 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 for 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 WR 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.
Future in Atlanta murkier
Published: 2024-03-12
Heinicke is poised to drop to No. 3 on Atlanta's depth chart with the team slated to sign Kirk Cousins (Achilles) to a four-year, $180 million contract, Michael Rothstein of ESPN reports.
Heinicke can also be cut by the Falcons to save the team roughly $7 million against the cap with just $2 million in dead money, per Spotrac, a move that seems like a no-brainer in the wake of Cousins' signing. Even if Atlanta is concerned about the 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 middling. The Falcons will avoid paying Heinicke a $1.3 million roster bonus if he's cut or traded prior to March 17.
Listed as emergency QB
Published: 2024-01-07
Heinicke (ankle) is inactive for Sunday's matchup against the Saints, but he'll operate as the emergency quarterback, Tori McElhaney of the 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.
Aiming to play Sunday
Published: 2024-01-07
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 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.
Gets questionable tag for Week 18
Published: 2024-01-05
The Falcons list Heinicke 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.