The Los Angeles Chargers on Wednesday acquired quarterback Taylor Heinicke in a trade with the Falcons in exchange for a 2025 seventh-round pick to Atlanta that converts into a 2025 sixth-round pick should specific conditions be met.
Here are five things to know about Heinicke:
1. Experienced QB
The Bolts quarterback room got a boost of experience behind Justin Herbert.
Heinicke, who is entering Year 10, has his fair share of NFL game reps that he now brings to the Bolts.
The 31-year-old quarterback has played in 38 career games and started 29 of them with a record of 13-15-1.
He has thrown for 6,635 career yards with 39 touchdowns and 28 interceptions. Heinicke has also rushed for 588 yards and three touchdowns.
2. Time in Washington
Perhaps the best stint of his career came during his time in Washington.
Heinicke spent from late 2020 to 2022 with the Commanders and started 24 of his 26 games with the team to finish with a 12-11-1 record.
He even started a playoff game with them shortly after arriving in 2020, a Wild Card round game against Tampa Bay where Heinicke threw for 306 yards and a touchdown.
His busiest year was in 2021, when he started 15 games for the team and threw for nearly 3,500 yards and 20 touchdowns to go along with 313 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Heinicke led four game-winning drives and three fourth-quarter comebacks during the 2021 season.
3. Different stops
Prior to being traded to the Bolts, Heinicke had been in Atlanta since 2023 and appeared in five games (four starts) last season.
But the quarterback has also had a long road in the NFL prior to his time in both Atlanta and Washington.
After going undrafted in 2015, Heinicke signed with the Vikings and was with them until 2017 when he briefly joined the Patriots and Texans practice squads.
He appeared in a game for Houston that season and later signed with the Panthers during free agency in 2018, where he played in six games.
4. Walter Payton Award winner
Heinicke was able to achieve a lot of success under center as a starter at Old Dominion.
He quickly became the starter after arriving with the Monarchs in 2011 and became the National Freshman Performer of the Year after his debut campaign.
The quarterback took it up another level in 2012, when he broke Steve McNair's 18-year-old FCS single-season passing yards record with 5,076 and set the FCS record with 398 completions.
He also led the country in passing yards (5,076), completions (398), passing touchdowns (44) and total touchdowns (55) enroute to winning the Walter Payton Award given to the best player in the FCS.
Heinicke finished his decorated career in 2014 with totals of 14,959 yards passing, 132 touchdowns, and 39 interceptions over four seasons in addition to 2,026 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns.
5. Georgia native
Born in Lawrenceville, Georgia, Heinicke made a name for himself in high school.
He attended Collins Hill High School where set Gwinnett County single-season records for passing yards (4,218 yards) and touchdowns (44) as a senior on his way to winning Old Spice Player of the Year in the state of Georgia.
