Who Should I Start? Brandon Allen or Taylor Heinicke

Monday, March 11, 5:08 PM

The San Francisco 49ers re-signed quarterback Brandon Allen to an undisclosed deal on Monday, according to a source. Allen was an excellent presence in the team's quarterback room last year and could become the team's direct backup to Brock Purdy in 2024 if Sam Darnold leaves in free agency, which is expected. The 31-year-old served as San Francisco's emergency third signal-caller last year and didn't get into any games. In his four previous seasons with the Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals, Allen has appeared in 15 games (nine starts) and has completed only 56.7 percent of his pass attempts for 1,611 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Wednesday, August 28, 8:22 PM

The Los Angeles Chargers are acquiring quarterback Taylor Heinicke from the Atlanta Falcons on Wednesday in exchange for a conditional sixth-round draft pick. Not only is starting quarterback Justin Herbert (foot) recovering from plantar fasciitis in his foot, but backup Easton Stick regressed in training camp and the preseason. The 31-year-old Heinicke will be an upgrade at the QB position behind Herbert entering the regular season next week. In Atlanta, the Falcons were expected all along to try and trade Heinicke after taking rookie Michael Penix Jr. in the first round in April. Heinicke made his NFL debut back in 2017 with the Houston Texans and has appeared in 38 games (29 starts) since then with four different teams. His best year came in 2021 with Washington, when he threw for 3,419 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 picks on 321 pass attempts over 16 games (15 starts).