Who Should I Start? Taylor Heinicke or John Wolford

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.

Friday, March 15, 6:10 PM

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers agreed to terms on an undisclosed deal with free-agent quarterback John Wolford, according to Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht. Wolford will return to Tampa after spending the end of last season on the team's practice squad. The 28-year-old didn't actually appear in a game in the NFL in 2023. The Wake Forest alum entered the league in 2020 with the Los Angeles Rams and has appeared in all seven of his games (four starts) in LA. Over that time, he's gone 61-for-104 (58.7 completion percentage) for 626 yards, one touchdown and five interceptions. Wolford will strictly operate as quarterback depth for the Bucs in 2024 behind starter Baker Mayfield and backup Kyle Trask.