By Jordan Long
The Washington Football Team is coming off a 7-9 season where they won the NFC East Division. Their year ended in a Wild Card loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Washington knew they wanted to keep backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke. They agreed to a 2 year extension.
Heinicke finished his 4th year in the NFL and Washington was his third team. Heinicke suited up for the Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans. Prior to this year, Heinicke saw action in 7 games in his career. He even started week 16 in the 2018 season for the Panthers. It didn’t go so well. He was 33 of 53 passing for 274 yards and 1 touchdown. Heinicke couldn’t read the defense and was picked off 3 times. Carolina lost to the Atlanta Falcons 24-10
Flash forward to this season. Heinicke started as the third quarterback behind Alex Smith and Dwayne Haskins. That changed on December 28th. He was elevated to the backup because Washington cut Dwayne Haskins.
In the Wild Card round against Tampa Bay, Heinicke started because Smith couldn’t play dealing with a calf injury. Heinicke was able to move the ball downfield for Washington. He finished the game 26 of 44 passing for 306 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. The offensive line protected him fairly well with 2 sacks. Unfortunately, Washington’s season ended with a 31-23 loss.
Heinicke’s big day showed he could play in the NFL. He was a restricted free agent, meaning any contract a team could have given Heinicke, Washington could match it. Washington rewarded him with a 2-year deal which is going to pay him a total of $8.75 million for the length of the contract.
According to NFL.com, Heinicke said, “It’s a good feeling. Everyone knows I was at home taking math classes … so for this contract to come, it’s a big sigh of relief. I’m really excited. This is the place I wanted to be, so everything came together pretty smoothly, and I’m really excited to be back.”
This gives Washington stability at the backup quarterback position. Heinicke may have his chance next year to earn the starting spot in training camp. With him under contract, Washington may still want to sign another quarterback or draft one. They have 2 quarterbacks on the roster, Smith and Heinicke. If one of them is injured and can’t suit up, that leaves a void. Washington will probably address it further in the offseason. For now, they have their backup for 2021.
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