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.

Tuesday, April 2, 2:21 PM

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Taylor Heinicke took a pay cut recently from an expected $5 million base salary in 2024 to $1.21 million, according to Roster Management System. His $1.32 million roster bonus, which was due just after the league year began last month, was instead classified as a signing bonus. His $40,000 per game active roster bonus was also removed from his contract. The reduction in his deal lowers Heinicke's salary cap number from $8.96 million to $4.53 million, including a cash value of $2.53 million. If Atlanta were to release him, he would cost $3.32 million in dead money with only a cap savings of $1.21 million. The 31-year-old got a chance to start in 2023 when Desmond Ridder was benched, but Heinicke did nothing to separate himself and also got hurt. He'll enter 2024 as the backup to starter Kirk Cousins.