Image by Herbert Aust from Pixabay
Taylor Heinicke is calling it a career. The veteran quarterback announced his retirement Thursday in an Instagram post, ending a nine-season NFL journey that took him through seven different teams and more than a few unlikely moments under center.
“For 25 years, I had the pleasure to play this great sport of football… It has taught me a lot, not only about myself, but about life as well. Many ups and downs throughout the years, but the ups outweigh the downs tenfold. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would’ve been able to live this life.”
Heinicke’s story is one of the more unlikely ones in recent NFL history. He went undrafted out of Old Dominion in 2015 – not exactly the traditional path to a decade-long pro career – and started out with the Minnesota Vikings before being waived in 2017. What followed was a stretch of bouncing around the league, including a stint in the XFL, before he landed with the Washington Commanders in 2020.
That’s where things got interesting.
His breakout came in his second year with Washington, stepping in for an injured Ryan Fitzpatrick and starting 15 games. He did it again the following season, filling in for Carson Wentz. All told, Heinicke went 12-11-1 across 24 starts for the Commanders – a record that, for a guy most teams kept around as a backup, is pretty hard to argue with.
After leaving Washington, Heinicke signed with the Atlanta Falcons in 2023 and made four starts. His final NFL role came in 2024, backing up Justin Herbert with the Los Angeles Chargers. He re-signed with the team heading into this season but was released before the year got underway.
In the same Instagram post, Heinicke added a note of gratitude to everyone who believed in him throughout the ride.
“Thank you to all who have supported me on this journey. Thank you all who have believed in me. And thank you to those who gave me the opportunity to live out my childhood dream. Excited for this next chapter of my life!”
