Meet Taylor Heinicke
December 30, 2020
by Steve Thomas
With the departure of former Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins and the status of Alex Smith’s injured calf still up in the air, it seems like a great time to introduce our readers to new quarterback Taylor Heinicke. After all, the team may very well be forced to rely on him on Sunday night in their quest to win the NFC East. Kind of important – so just who is this Heinicke guy, anyway? How many of you even knew his name before 2 weeks ago?
Heinicke, who stands 6’1” and weighs 210 pounds, is originally from Suwanee, Georgia, where he played his high school ball at Collins Hill High School. As a high school senior in 2010, he was cast on an MTV2 reality show called “The Ride” which featured various high school quarterbacks vying for a spot in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Heinicke earned a scholarship to Old Dominion University, where he played from 2011 to 2014. He was extremely prolific as a starter for the Monarchs for almost four full seasons, during which time he completed 1,238 of 1,829 passes for a 67.7% completion percentage, 14,959 yards, and 132 touchdowns. He remains Old Dominion’s all-time leading passer. It’s noteworthy that Henicke’s stats took a dip in 2014 when ODU transitioned from the FBS to the FCS (i.e., division I-A).
Heinicke went undrafted in the 2015 NFL draft, but was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Minnesota Vikings, where he first encountered current Washington offensive coordinator Scott Turner, who was then the Vikings’ quarterbacks coach. Heinicke earned a spot as the third string quarterback behind Terry Bridgewater and Shaun Hill but did not see any regular season game action that year. Heinicke spent the first half of the 2016 season on non-football injury list after suffering an off-field injury prior to training camp. He was activated in November, but once again did not get on the field that season. Heinicke was released by Minnesota with an injury settlement in September, 2017. He then spent a brief period with the New England Patriots before being released again in October.
Heinicke was then signed to the Houston Texans’ practice squad in November, 2017, and was activated in December. He saw his first NFL regular season action that month, completing 1 pass for 10 yards before suffering a concussion. The Texans waived him in the 2018 offseason, but he was reunited with Turner at Carolina shortly thereafter. Heinicke made Carolina’s active roster and played 6 games, starting 1, that season, completing 35 of 57 passes for 320 yards and a 61.4% completion percentage, with 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions. The injury bug struck again, however, as he suffered an elbow injury in week 16 that season and was again placed on injured reserve for the final week of Carolina’s season. The Panthers re-signed Heinicke for the 2019 season, but subsequently cut him at the end of training camp.
Heinicke spent 2019 out of the NFL, but signed with the XFL for their 2020 season and was allocated to the St. Louis Battlehawks before the XFL terminated operations earlier this year. He did not see any game action in St. Louis and was out of football before Washington called earlier this month.
In total, Heinicke’s NFL stats, including Sunday’s actions against the Panthers, include 8 games played with 1 start, 48 completions in 77 attempts, a 62.3% completion percentage, 2 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, and a 71.7 quarterback rating.
A survey of 2015 draft scouting reports showed that most analysts at the time viewed Heinicke as smart, with good mechanics, accurate when given time in the pocket, but lacking in NFL size and arm strength. He was viewed by many at the time as a system quarterback who needed to be in a dedicated West Coast Offense to succeed. At least one analyst[1] compared him to former Washington quarterback Colt McCoy, a comparison which I also mentioned on The Hog Sty’s Panthers game recap show (click here to listen).
Heinicke is only signed through the end of this season, but given Washington’s uncertainty in the quarterback room, he certainly has a chance to prove that he belongs in the conversation next year.
[1] http://insidethepylon.com/nfl/2015-nfl-draft/2015/03/19/nfl-draft-profile-old-dominion-qb-taylor-heinicke/