Commander Country

Taylor Heinicke: 'I Want to Sign with Packers'; Will Commanders Keep Backup QB?

Given that Taylor Heinicke is a free agent, he can't be blamed for looking for a future outside of the Commanders.

Mike Fisher

Taylor Heinicke, it seems, wants out.

The Washington Commanders essentially announced this week that rookie Sam Howell will be the team's starting quarterback when the 2023 season opens. And given that Heinicke is a free agent, he can't be blamed for looking for a future outside of D.C.

"I want to go to the Packers because that's a childhood dream of mine," Heinicke said, maybe light-heartedly, in a visit on the Pat McAfee Show.

And then, more seriously, because Aaron Rodgers of the Packers is presently using a "four-day darkness retreat'' to figure out the Green Bay QB situation ...

"Other than that, obviously I want to play - I want to start,'' Heinicke said. "If that opportunity doesn't come up, being a backup quarterback in the NFL is probably one of the best jobs in America.''

And Heinicke has been judged to be pretty good at that, developing a sort of folk-hero stature not only among Washington fans but also in his own locker room.

Nevertheless, coach Ron Rivera in an appearance on NFL Network has made his QB plan fairly clear.

"We will go into OTA's, minicamp and training camp with Sam Howell more than likely as QB1 and we'll see what happens,'' he said.

Howell, a fifth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, sat behind Carson Wentz and Heinicke all year but started the team's final game of the season and played well in a 26-6 upset over the hated Dallas Cowboys.

Rivera did say he wants competition, but with Wentz a possible cut and with Heinicke stating his wishes?

That competition might have to come from someone, and somewhere, else.

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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983, is the author of two best-selling books on the NFL.

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