Atlanta Falcons news: Team trades former starting quarterback in most-recent move

Rumors had surfaced over the past several days that the Atlanta Falcons were looking to trade former starting quarterback Taylor Heinicke.

After acquiring Kirk Cousins in NFL free agency and surprisingly selecting fellow signal caller Michael Penix in the first round of April’s NFL Draft, it became somewhat clear that Heinicke’s career in Atlanta had an expiration date.

That was magnified during the preseason when Penix outplayed his veteran counterpart. It has now led to Heinicke being dealt from Atlanta to the Los Angeles Chargers .

Per NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport , the Falcons get a conditional sixth-round pick in return from Los Angeles for Heinicke.

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What the Atlanta Falcons trade of Taylor Heinicke means

First off, the Chargers have struggled under center this summer with Justin Herbert sidelined to an injury . Easton Stick just has not done enough to prove that he can come in and perform at a decent level should Herbert’s injuries continue.

This has led to widespread speculation that new head coach Jim Harbaugh and Co. were looking for an upgrade behind Herbert.

Heinicke, 31, has started 29 games in seven seasons. His best performance came back in 2021 with Washington when the quarterback threw 20 touchdowns against 15 interceptions.

As for the Falcons, this means that Penix Jr. will be QB2 behind Cousins when they open up the regular season September 8 against the Pittsburgh Steelers .

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