Making the case for Taylor Heinicke as the Seahawks QB of the future

Heineken? No, Heinicke

The story of Taylor Heinicke is quite unique to most of the NFL’s prestigious signal callers. Undrafted out of college after a tremendous career at Old Dominion, Heinicke found himself bouncing around practice squads and holding clipboards in Minnesota, New England, Houston and Carolina from 2015 to 2019. With his NFL future in doubt, Heinicke was looking like he’d be a St. Louis Battlehawk for the XFL before COVID-19 shut it all down.

A second chance at the NFL came when he signed with the Washington Football Team at the tail end of the 2020 season. With inconsistent play and injuries, Heinicke got spot action and played well in a loss to Carolina in week 16. After Alex Smith was injured and ruled out for their Wildcard game against Tampa Bay, Heinicke was forced to start in a playoff game against Tom Brady.

With the whole world thinking Washington had no chance, Heinicke went toe-to-toe with the GOAT, throwing for 302 yards and two touchdowns. Although the eventual Super Bowl champions survived 30-23, there was a lot to like from Heinicke.

After the successful postseason game, Washington extended Heinicke with a two-year extension. After Washington signed Ryan Fitzpatrick for the 2021 season, Heinicke was expected to be the backup to a playoff-contending team.

That dream ended fairly quickly as Fitzpatrick was sent into retirement after an injury in week one. With Heinicke back in charge, he led Washington to a 6-6 record while going 6-5 as the starter, including a revenge victory over Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.

The Washington Football Team was in the middle of another playoff chase before an injury and Covid cost Heinicke some time as Washington would lose four of their final five games. Heinicke finished the year 7-8 as Washington would go 7-10. He’d throw for 3,400 yards, at a 20/15 TD to INT ratio, and a 65 percent completion percentage.