Taylor Heinicke Retires After 11 Years in the NFL
taylor heinicke has retired after 11 NFL seasons, announcing on Instagram that he has decided to walk away from football. His career stretched from an undrafted entry in 2015 to starts for Washington, Atlanta and Los Angeles.
“For 25 years, I had the pleasure to play this great sport of football,” Heinicke wrote. He added that the game taught him “a lot, not only about myself, but about life as well.”
Washington opened the door
His rise came in Washington, where late-2020 injuries and roster moves pushed him into the lineup. Heinicke joined the Commanders practice squad late that season, then started in the Wild Card Round against the Buccaneers after Dwayne Haskins was cut and Alex Smith suffered a calf injury.
He delivered his biggest postseason line there: 26 of 44 passes for 306 yards, one touchdown and one interception, plus 46 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. Washington then signed him to a new two-year deal the following offseason.
That playoff start became the turning point in a career that had barely gotten off the ground before then. Heinicke had won the Walter Payton Award and FCS Player of the Year at Old Dominion in 2012, went undrafted in the 2015 draft, and spent time with the Vikings, Patriots, Texans, Panthers and the St. Louis BattleHawks before his Washington opportunity.
Heinicke’s run with Washington
He started 15 games in 2021 after Ryan Fitzpatrick was injured in Week 1 and went 7-8 as a starter. Heinicke completed 65 percent of his passes for 3,419 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions that season, while adding 313 rushing yards and one score.
In 2022, he moved into a backup role behind Carson Wentz before injuries pushed him back into action. Heinicke started nine games that year and went 5-3-1, throwing 12 touchdowns and six interceptions.
By then, his profile had shifted from emergency fill-in to proven starter, and Atlanta paid for that stability with a two-year, $14 million deal. He was expected to back up Desmond Ridder, but he ended up with four starts in 2023 and went 1-3.
Atlanta, Los Angeles, and the end
The Falcons then traded Heinicke to the Chargers after adding Kirk Cousins and first-round pick Michael Penix Jr. during the 2024 offseason. He spent the 2024 season as Justin Herbert’s backup and was limited to five pass attempts in four cameo appearances.
He signed a one-year, $6.2 million deal with Los Angeles during the 2025 offseason, but Trey Lance won the backup battle and Heinicke did not make it to the regular season with the Chargers. He did not get another NFL job during the 2025 season.
Heinicke finished with 42 appearances, 29 starts, a 13-15-1 record as a starter, 33 touchdown passes, 21 interceptions and three rushing touchdowns. The retirement closes a career that kept reopening at the moment the league seemed to move past him.
