Taylor Heinicke Taking Pay Cut to Remain With Falcons, Per Report

The 31-year-old has started 29 games in the NFL.

Taylor Heinicke / Quinn Harris/GettyImages

The Atlanta Falcons overhauled the quarterback position this offseason, signing Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal in free agency before trading away Desmond Ridder. Drafted in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Ridder started 13 games for the franchise last year. He went 6-7 and was eventually benched for Taylor Heinicke. Ridder might be gone, but Heinicke is not.

ESPN's Michael Rothstein reported this week that Heinicke's base salary for the 2024 season was cut from $5 million to $1.21 million. Additionally, Heinicke no longer has a roster bonus that would reward him $40,000 for each game he is active. It doesn't change much for Atlanta as far as their cap situation goes but there was clearly a feeling that Heinicke was making too much after the Cousins signing, leading to a pay cut for the backup quarterback.

The arrangement makes sense for both parties. The Falcons are hoping to take a big step forward in 2024 after missing the playoffs in each of the last six seasons. They hired a new head coach, Raheem Morris, and paid a premium price to recruit Cousins as the organization's new signal-caller. However, Cousins is coming off a torn Achilles and will be 36 years-old when next season begins. Atlanta needs depth behind him.

Heinicke qualifies as such. While he isn't suited to be a full-time starter, with a career record of 13-15-1, Heinicke is talented enough to win games in a pinch. Turnovers are a problem for the former Washington Commanders quarterback, who has 28 interceptions in 29 career starts. But he understands how to solve NFL defenses at a high enough level that the Falcons would feel comfortable throwing him back there if Cousins goes down for a game or two.

Of course, Atlanta shouldn't put all their eggs in one basket. And they won't. Morris said last week that the franchise will add another quarterback before the season begins in September, whether it's on the free agent market or through April's NFL Draft. Which is an important note for Heinicke's future, considering the Falcons can release him outright with less of a penalty now than they could before he took his pay cut.

If all goes well for the Falcons, Heinicke won't see the field in 2024. But it's good to be prepared, and keeping Heinicke around is a smart way to do so.

Liam McKeone is an editor at The Big Lead.