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The Los Angeles Chargers have acquired quarterback Taylor Heinicke from the Atlanta Falcons, Dianna Russini and Josh Kendall reported on Wednesday for The Athletic.
The Falcons received a conditional sixth-round pick in return, per Russini.
Heinicke was previously listed third on the Falcons’ depth chart behind veteran starter Kirk Cousins and 2024 first-rounder Michael Penix Jr.
He will now be expected to compete with Easton Stick to back up Justin Herbert in Los Angeles.
Heinicke is set to earn a base salary of $1.21 million in 2024. The Falcons will save that much toward the cap, while taking on his $3.32 million signing bonus as dead money, per Over the Cap.
The trade is particularly notable given Herbert’s injury history, including the season-ending finger injury that caused him to miss the final month of the 2023 season.
The Chargers announced on Aug. 1 that Herbert had been diagnosed with a right foot plantar fascia injury which would necessitate wearing a walking boot for two weeks.
The team said at the time that Herbert was expected to be ready to take on the Las Vegas Raiders when Week 1 action kicked off on Sept. 8.
Although Herbert made no preseason appearances for the Chargers, he returned to team practice last week.
Former Charger Dan Fouts said on Saturday that Herbert says his foot “has healed completely and is no longer an issue” (h/t Fernando Ramirez of the Sporting Tribune.)
Herbert may be on track to play in Week 1, but if he is forced to miss any time in 2024 the Chargers may want an experienced backup who could take his place.
In that case Heinicke, who has 38 NFL appearances and 29 starts under his belt, would be a better fit than Stick, who has made six appearances and four starts for the Chargers in the 2020 and 2023 seasons.
Stick did not help his case by completing just 45.5 percent of his passes and throwing three interceptions in three preseason appearances for the Chargers.
It is not yet clear if Stick will remain on the Chargers’ 53-man roster. Head coach Jim Harbaugh gave a noncommittal answer on Tuesday as to whether he was “satisfied” with Stick’s progress this offseason.
