Who Should I Start? Cooper Rush or Taylor Heinicke

Sunday, January 14, 3:15 PM

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush (illness) is officially active for Sunday's playoff game against the Green Bay Packers. He had been listed as questionable after missing practice on Friday. Rush has only played sparingly in garbage-time situations this year, completing 75 percent of his passes for 144 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception. He'll remain in the backup role behind Dak Prescott this weekend.

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.