Heinicke: “I want to be here.”
QB hopes for a future with Washington after playoff debut
Taylor Heinicke almost certainly has a chance to earn a roster spot in the NFL next season after a dazzling performance in his NFL playoff debut Saturday for the Washington Football Team.
On Monday, Heinicke made no secret that he’d like that chance to come with Washington and coach Ron Rivera.
“I think my contract is up in February, I believe, and then free agency starts in March,” the former Old Dominion star told “The Sports Junkies” radio show on D.C.-area 106.7 FM The Fan. “But yeah, I am a restricted free agent. Whatever Washington wants to do, that’s their choice. I want to be here. I love it here. Love Ron. I love Scott (Turner, the offensive coordinator). Love the guys in this locker room.”
Heinicke started his first NFL game since 2018 on Saturday and drew rave reviews from his Washington teammates and Rivera. Heinicke completed 26 of 44 passes for 306 yards and a touchdown. He also was Washington’s leading rusher with 46 yards on six attempts, including an 8-yard TD run and dive to the pylon that made the rounds on social media.
The performance was a remarkable coming-out party for Heinicke, who said he was motivated by what looked in 2018 like the end of his professional football career.
“I was sick to my stomach in how football ended for me in Carolina with a torn tricep, a loss, and then going to the XFL, not really getting a starting job and playing,” Heinicke told The Fan. “I didn’t want football to end for me that way. So I just trained just for the sheer fact if I did get an
opportunity, I wanted to make the best of it.”
Washington’s question marks at quarterback because of injuries and ineptitude opened the door for Heinicke, who was signed to Washington’s practice squad last month. He was added to the roster when an injured Alex Smith sat out two games, and Heinicke relieved starter Dwayne Haskins two weeks ago against Carolina.
Haskins was released, and when Smith was ruled inactive with a nagging calf injury, Heinicke became the starter. Before his whirlwind month, Heinicke was taking online classes to finish his ODU degree this season when Washington called.
“I learned a lot after the whole XFL thing kind of ended and I was at home trying to figure out what to do, what my next plan was,” Heinicke said. “While I was doing that, there was still a glimmer of hope in the back of my mind that there still might be a chance. I kept working hard and just kept telling myself, ‘Just prepare like if you do get this shot, it’s gonna be the last shot you get.’”
Heinicke was a record-setting quarterback for ODU, but he was undrafted after leaving college and had short stints and limited success with four NFL teams: Minnesota, New England, Houston and Carolina. He was on the St. Louis BattleHawks’ roster in the XFL this season before the league folded.
Rivera was Heinicke’s coach in Carolina, so he was familiar with the offense. Haskins was released after the Week 16 game against Carolina, and Smith played all the snaps in the regular-season finale against Philadelphia. Smith and Heinicke shared snaps in practice leading up to the game against Tampa Bay.
“I was like, you know what? I’m coming every day to prepare like I’m starting, just in case,” Heinicke said. “The NFL’s a crazy business. Injuries happen. With all this COVID stuff going on, you just never know. So when I went out to practice and everything, I was just preparing like I was starting.
“But this past week, it was the same as any other week,” he added. “It was kind of the same deal where Alex (Smith) wasn’t really getting much reps, he was letting his leg rest. But then once Friday morning came around and we had that walk-through, and he still didn’t get much reps throughout the week, Ron Rivera came up to me and told me I was starting.”