Commanders QB Taylor Heinicke Playing For Massive Payday in Final Month

Taylor Heinicke is due to hit free agency this spring. The Washington Commanders will have to pay up if they want to keep their quarterback.

Jeremy Brener | Dec 12, 2022

Washington Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke is helping lead the team to a playoff berth, but he's also got something else to play for.

After the season, Heinicke, who turns 30 this offseason, will be a free agent.

Ever since he took over as the starter for an injured Carson Wentz in Week 7, the Commanders have been on a roll, losing just one game since. The team also named Heinicke the starter following its Week 11 win against the Houston Texans.

Heinicke's stats haven't been flashy, but the results have. Washington has gone from 1-4 to 7-5-1, winning six of the last eight games.

Does that warrant a big contract in free agency?

In a year where a quarter of the league's starters will hit free agency, the quarterback market is expected to be wild this spring. And Heinicke could see interest from several teams either looking for a bridge quarterback and/or a trusted veteran. Teams like the New Orleans Saints and New York Giants come to mind. Should Tom Brady want to leave the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for some reason, that might be a potential landing spot for Heinicke.

There could be teams offering Heinicke a starting role, which means Washington might also have to commit long-term in order for him to stay.

If the season ended today, Heinicke would certainly deserve that. But now is the time to truly start making money. Should Heinicke finish the job and lead the Commanders to the playoffs, it will be hard to not see boatloads of cash being offered to him in free agency ... by multiple teams.

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Published Dec 12, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.