Heinicke signed a one-year contract worth up to $6.2 million with the Chargers on Thursday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

EDGE Analysis

Heinicke spent the 2024 season with the Chargers as the backup to Justin Herbert but played only 22 offensive snaps while attempting five passes. He's spent parts of a few seasons as a starter and will once again be one of the more competent backups in the league.

Heinicke saw spot duty in four regular-season games in 2024, completing three of five pass attempts for 28 yards and also rushing two times for 20 yards.

EDGE Analysis

Heinicke's lack of work was expected, as long as the Chargers' starting quarterback, Justin Herbert remained healthy. The 31-year-old joined the franchise late in training camp due to a trade with the Falcons and ultimately won the backup job from Easton Stick. With Heinicke set to be an unrestricted free agent, he may find himself in a different uniform next season.

Heinicke completed his only two passes for 24 yards in Sunday's loss to the Steelers after entering the game late in the second half for Justin Herbert (ankle), who was spotted leaving the stadium in a walking boot.

EDGE Analysis

Heinicke technically attempted only two passes, but he dropped back far more only to be destroyed by the freight train that was the Steelers' defense. Both starting tackles Rashawn Slater (pectoral) and Joe Alt (back) appeared to suffer injuries in this one, so it's possible the Chargers could be extra cautious with their franchise quarterback, allotting more time for Heinicke to play in the coming weeks. The long-time veteran joined the team late in the preseason, but he came on in relief instead of multi-year backup Easton Stick, who struggled mightily in preseason action.

Heinicke (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Panthers.

EDGE Analysis

The quarterback was traded to the Chargers for a conditional sixth-round pick Aug. 28 and sat out Week 1, too. Heinicke appears to be behind Easton Stick on the depth chart at the moment.

The Falcons traded Heinicke to the Chargers on Wednesday, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

Heinicke was the odd man out in Atlanta's quarterback room, where both Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix stood firmly above him on the depth chart, and he now joins a Los Angeles team that will feel more secure with proven options behind Justin Herbert (foot), who recently returned to 7-on-7 work while recovering from a plantar fascia injury. Herbert is expected to be ready for Week 1, but if the Chargers have any concerns about his recovery timetable, Heinicke and Eason Stick could both be in the mix as backup options. Stick is familiar with the offense and looked fine in limited action last season, but Heinicke is the more experienced signal-caller, having started 28 games over the last three years.

Heinicke completed four of 11 passes for 11 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions and netted no gain on two carries in the Falcons' 20-13 preseason loss to the Dolphins on Friday night. He also fumbled once but recovered.

EDGE Analysis

Heinicke was the second quarterback in after rookie eighth overall pick Michael Penix, entering the game with 6:34 remaining in the second quarter. The veteran signal-caller was partly victimized by playing with second- and third-string offensive linemen and skill players, helping explain his forgettable passing line. Nevertheless, Heinicke appears to still have a clear lead in his battle with recent arrival Nathan Rourke for the No. 3 quarterback job, and both players should once again see time in the Falcons' second exhibition game Aug. 17 against the Ravens.

Heinicke took a pay cut in March to stay with the Falcons, reducing his $5 million base salary to $1.21 million, ESPN.com's Michael Rothstein reports.

EDGE Analysis

He also converted a $1.32 million roster bonus to a signing bonus and agreed to remove the $40,000 per-game roster bonuses from his contract. He's left with $2.53 million in real-money compensation for the second and final year of his deal, with a $4.53 million cap hit. Heinicke is in excellent position for the backup QB role behind Kirk Cousins, after Desmond Ridder was traded to Arizona for Rondale Moore in mid-March. The Falcons still have time to bring in competition, but it may not be a priority given that Heinicke's track record suggests he's qualified for the second spot on the depth chart. They'll at least need to bring in a camp arm or two, seeing as Cousins and Heinicke are the only QBs on the roster at the beginning of April.

Heinicke is poised to drop to No. 3 on Atlanta's depth chart with the team slated to sign Kirk Cousins (Achilles), Michael Rothstein of ESPN reports.

EDGE Analysis

Cutting Heinicke would save the Falcons roughly $7 million against the cap, with just $2 million in dead money, a move that seems like a no-brainer in the wake of Cousins' signing. Even if Atlanta is concerned about its new franchise quarterback's Week 1 availability, the team still has Desmond Ridder under contract on his affordable rookie deal. Heinicke finished 2023 as the starter over Ridder, but both signal-callers were ultimately unimpressive. The Falcons will avoid paying Heinicke a $1.3 million roster bonus if he's cut or traded prior to March 17.

Heinicke (ankle) is inactive for Sunday's matchup against the Saints, but he'll operate as the emergency quarterback, Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' official site reports.

EDGE Analysis

Heinicke was deemed questionable after logging three limited sessions during Week 18 prep but will ultimately be inactive for the regular-season finale due to an ankle injury he aggravated versus Chicago in Week 17. He started the season as Desmond Ridder's backup, but Heinicke eventually claimed a starting role and appeared in five games this season, completing 54.5 percent of his passes for 890 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions. Ridder will start versus New Orleans, while Logan Woodside is the primary backup. If both Ridder and Woodside are forced out of Sunday's game due to injuries, Heinicke would be eligible to play, though it's unclear how mobile he'd be given his lower-body injury.

Heinicke (ankle) remains questionable for Sunday's game against the Saints but is hopeful to play, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

EDGE Analysis

Heinicke exited late in last week's loss to the Bears after aggravating a left ankle injury, but he was able to practice in a limited fashion Wednesday through Friday to build optimism about his chances of playing in the regular-season finale. The signal-caller is still seemingly being viewed as a game-time decision ahead of Sunday's 1 p.m. ET kickoff, as the Falcons want to see how he fares from a mobility standpoint in a pregame warmup before signing off on him making his fifth start of the season. Over his five appearances to date, Heinicke has completed 74 of 136 passes (54.4 percent) for 6.5 yards per attempt, five touchdowns and four interceptions while adding 15 carries for 124 yards and a score.