The Atlanta Falcons, especially head coach Raheem Morris, understood the importance of having a good quarterback after the Falcons struggled to win games last season. At the combine, Morris criticized the quarterback play from last season, stating:
“If we had better quarterback play last year in Atlanta, I might not be standing here,” Morris told reporters.
The Falcons addressed the position in free agency by signing Kirk Cousins, trading Desmond Ridder to the Arizona Cardinals, and reducing the salary of their backup.
The Atlanta Falcons reduced the salary of their backup quarterback.
According to Michael Rothstein of ESPN, the Falcons and Taylor Heinicke agreed to a pay cut by reducing his base salary from $5 million to $1.21 million and his cap number from $8.96 million to $4.53 million, freeing up approximately $4.43 million in cap space.
He also had a $1.32 million roster bonus due on the 5th day of the league new year, but now it’s classified as a signing bonus.
Finally, his $40k per-game active roster bonus was removed from the contract.
If the Falcons were to cut him, the team would free up $1.21 million, but they would incur a dead cap hit of $3.32 million, per Over The Cap.
Taylor Heinicke signed a two-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons during the 2023 offseason.
The Falcons and Heinicke agreed to a two-year, $14 million contract with a $4 million signing bonus, $6.32 million guaranteed, and up to $6 million in incentives.
Heinicke started the 2023 season as the backup to Ridder. Ridder struggled near the middle of the season, causing him to get benched in favor of Heinicke in Week 8. As a result, Heinicke started in Weeks 9 and 10 but exited Week 10 with a hamstring injury.
Because he suffered a hamstring injury, Ridder started in Week 12 and kept the starting spot until Week 15.
Heinicke was given another opportunity to start in Weeks 16 and 17. He struggled in Week 17, causing him to be the backup in Week 18.
He finished the season completing 74 out of 136 pass attempts for 890 yards and threw five touchdowns to four interceptions with a 1-3 record, appearing in five games.
Raheem Morris is a fan of Taylor Heinicke.
Morris is a fan of Heinicke, calling him an elite backup.
“I don’t want to limit him to what he can be, but he has shown that he’s been an elite backup in this league,” new head coach Raheem Morris said of Heinicke. “When you’re talking about an elite backup, a guy that comes in the game and can win you a game until your starter gets back and, boom, not miss a beat, right? Not need the reps that’s required to go out there and play and execute. He’s shown all those things, and the interest is always there.”
Will Kirk Cousins or Taylor Heinicke start Week 1?
Cousins is recovering well from his Achilles tear in Week 8 and the Falcons expect him to be ready by Week 1.
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