Who Should I Start? Colt McCoy or Taylor Heinicke

Tuesday, October 10, 7:00 PM

Free agent quarterback Colt McCoy was one of eight players to work out for the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday, according to Field Yates of ESPN. This move makes sense for Minnesota as backup quarterback Nick Mullens (back) could potentially be placed on injured reserve. That means the Vikings are one Kirk Cousins injury away from starting 25-year-old rookie Jaren Hall under center. McCoy could serve as a nice stopgap backup QB option if Mullens ends up going to IR.

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.