When the Falcons made the surprising decision to select quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 overall pick in this year’s draft, Taylor Heinicke’s hold on a roster spot suddenly became quite tenuous. Before the draft, Heinicke accepted a substantial pay cut to remain on the team as the presumptive backup to marquee free agent acquisition Kirk Cousins, though the Penix pick obviously altered expectations in a big way.
Penix worked with the third-team offense in minicamp, but the Falcons have always expected him to serve as the QB2 behind Cousins this year. D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes that Penix has flashed in the early stages of training camp, and that the club plans to keep two signal-callers on the roster with a third on the taxi squad. As such, Heinicke believes his stay with his hometown team is unlikely to last much longer.
“Yeah, I kind of see the writing on the wall,” Heinicke said after Saturday’s open practice. “It’s nothing that I haven’t been through before. So, I accept my role in any case. My role, for me, and what I think is to help Kirk any way that I can. If he has any questions. Same thing with Mike. Sometimes the game is fast. Sometimes everything is fast for rookies.”
Heinicke has 29 regular season starts in his NFL career and has compiled a 13-15-1 record. That includes a 1-3 mark with the Falcons last season, when he was promoted to the starting job in the wake of Desmond Ridder’s struggles. He completed 54.4% of his passes for 890 yards and five touchdowns against four picks, which amounts to a subpar quarterback rating of 74.7.
Still, Heinicke is just one year removed from signing a two-year, $14M contract, a notable deal that underscores his value to an NFL club. While he is obviously not a bonafide QB1, he can at least keep a team afloat for a few games should that team’s starter be forced to miss time.
Ledbetter notes that Cousins will not take part in any preseason games. He suggests that Penix, Heinicke and UDFA rookie John Paddock could be utilized in the exhibition contests, but assuming all goes according to plan, Atlanta could seek to deal Heinicke.
Now that Heinicke’s base salary has been reduced to $1.21M, the Falcons could theoretically find a taker for an experienced backup on an eminently reasonable contract. The team could also cut Heinicke, but given the minimal cap savings such a transaction would yield, Atlanta may be better served by keeping him on board as a veteran mentor for Penix.
