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Taylor Heinicke

Titans Audition QBs Joe Callahan, Taylor Heinicke

October 1st, 2019 at 8:55pm CST by Ben Levine

Marcus Mariota is coming off one of his best starts of the season, that didn’t stop the Titans from auditioning some quarterbacks today. Veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer tweets that the Titans worked out signal-callers Joe Callahan and Taylor Heinicke.

Heinicke, a 2015 undrafted free agent out of Old Dominion, got into six games (one start) with the Panthers last season, completing 61.4-percent of his passes for 320 yards, one touchdown, and three picks. The 26-year-old also added another 31 yards (as well as a fumble) on five carries. He was released by the Panthers at the end of the preseason, and he’s since had workouts with the Bills and Lions.

Callahan, 26, has managed to put together a four-year career despite only appearing in a single NFL game. The former undrafted free agent out of Wesley (DE) has had stints with the Packers (two stints), Saints, Browns, Eagles, Buccaneers, and Ravens. He appeared in a single game with Green Bay back in 2017, completing five of his seven pass attempts for 11 yards. He joined Baltimore this past offseason before being cut in late August.

While Mariota wasn’t necessarily at risk of losing his starting job, he didn’t do much to quiet his critics during the Titans’ losses in Week 2 and Week 3. However, he bounced back in Sunday’s win over the Falcons, completing 18 of his 27 pass attempts for 227 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 22 rushing yards on three carries. The Titans gave up some draft capital to acquire backup Ryan Tannehill, so it’s unlikely a free agent addition would be any better than third on the depth chart. However, it makes sense for the Titans to explore some options just in case they suffer a sudden injury.

NFL Workout Updates: 9/10/19

September 10th, 2019 at 9:55pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We’ve got another busy day of workouts, with many teams across the league hosting players.

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

NFL Workout Updates: 9/3/19

September 3rd, 2019 at 9:27pm CST by Rory Parks

Here are today’s workout updates, all courtesy of Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter) unless otherwise noted. The Saints had several recognizable players in for workouts.

Arizona Cardinals (Twitter link via veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer)

Carolina Panthers (Twitter link via Balzer)

Cincinnati Bengals

Detroit Lions

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

  • G Brandon Hitner

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Redskins (Twitter link via Balzer)

Panthers Set 53-Man Roster

August 31st, 2019 at 12:29pm CST by Ben Levine

The Panthers have officially set their 53-man roster, and there are few major surprises on the list. One of the most notable names is running back Cameron Artis-Payne, who spent the past four years in Carolina. The team also moved on from fellow offensive veteran Aldrick Robinson, who finished last season with five touchdown receptions for the Vikings.

Otherwise, the other notable names include recent draft picks, like 2018 seventh-round wideout Terry Godwin and 2017 fifth-round cornerback Corn Elder.

The rest of the Panthers’ roster moves are below:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/Injured:

Placed on IR:

Panthers Cut QB Taylor Heinicke

August 30th, 2019 at 11:26am CST by Zachary Links

The Panthers have released quarterback Taylor Heinicke, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). With that, the Panthers will move forward with Kyle Allen as the backup and rookie Will Grier as the backups to starter Cam Newton.

The Panthers brought Heinicke, a former UDFA, in off of waivers from the Texans last year. He wound up making one start, though he finished out the year with one touchdown pass and three interceptions. Near the end, they turned to Allen after Heinicke suffered an elbow injury.

Heinicke, 26, will now look to hook on elsewhere and make the second start of his NFL career.

Panthers Re-Sign QB Taylor Heinicke

March 12th, 2019 at 12:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

One of the lower-profile backup quarterbacks in the NFL last season, Taylor Heinicke saw some game action after Cam Newton‘s injury. The Panthers are bringing him back for another season.

The team announced Heinicke re-signed to stay in Carolina. He joins Newton and Kyle Allen as the Panthers’ quarterbacks.

A UDFA whom the Panthers brought in via waiver claim from the Texans last year, Heinicke made one start last season and finished his season with one touchdown pass and three interceptions. The Panthers turned to Allen by season’s end, with Heinicke suffering an elbow injury that sent him to IR. But they are keeping the 25-year-old Heinicke around nonetheless.

 

 

Panthers Place Taylor Heinicke On IR

December 26th, 2018 at 10:16am CST by Zachary Links

The Panthers have a new quarterback. On Wednesday, Carolina placed Taylor Heinicke on injured reserve and signed Garrett Gilbert to replace him. 

Heinicke took over as the starting QB after Cam Newton was shut down due to a shoulder injury. Then, on Sunday against the Falcons, Heinicke fell hard on his elbow in the second quarter. He mustered up the courage to return to the game after a brief exit, but a Wednesday morning MRI revealed a serious injury for the fill-in and it will necessitate a stint on the IR.

With Gilbert in the fold, the Panthers now have two healthy QBs in Heinicke and Kyle Allen. Allen, in all likelihood, will get the start in the Panthers’ season finale.

Gilbert, meanwhile, offers some familiarity with the Panthers’ offense since he was with the team in the in 2017 and the 2018 offseason. For now, he’ll put his opportunity with Orlando Apollos of the AAF on hold for a chance to prove himself on the NFL’s gridiron.

Latest On Panthers’ Quarterbacks

December 24th, 2018 at 10:29am CST by Ben Levine

It sounds like Cam Newton will be able to avoid offseason shoulder surgery. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports that the Panthers quarterback doesn’t have any structural damage to his throwing shoulder (Twitter link). This means Newton won’t have to undergo surgery (or deal with the accompanying rehab) during the offseason.

While Newton only recently acknowledged his shoulder injury, Rapoport says the quarterback had been dealing with pain through the second half of the season. This clearly had an impact on his production; over his past three games, Newton threw only two touchdowns vs. six interceptions (he had thrown seven interceptions in his team’s previous 11 games). The Panthers decided to shut down their franchise quarterback, allowing Taylor Heinicke to take over as the starter.

Unfortunately, the former undrafted free agent out of Old Dominion also suffered an injury during yesterday’s loss to the Falcons. Head coach Ron Rivera said Heinicke will undergo an MRI on his elbow today (via ESPN’s David Newton on Twitter). The quarterback was briefly knocked out of yesterday’s game after suffering an elbow injury, but he returned and managed to finish the game. He ended up completing 33 of his 53 pass attempts for 274 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. He also added 33 rushing yards.

If Heinicke is unable to go during the team’s season finale against the Saints, Kyle Allen would likely earn the starting nod. The rookie quarterback had a brief cameo during yesterday’s contest, completing all four of his passes for 38 yards. Newton notes that activating Newton “doesn’t sound like an option.” Joe Person of The Athletic tweets that the team could also consider adding signal-caller Garrett Gilbert, who was cut by the team prior to the regular season.

Panthers Claim QB Taylor Heinicke

April 16th, 2018 at 4:47pm CST by Zachary Links

The Panthers picked up quarterback Taylor Heinicke off waivers. The QB was cut by the Texans on Friday. 

Heinicke, 25, threw his only NFL pass to date in a 34-6 loss to the Steelers last year. The Old Dominion product hasn’t made much noise over the last three years with the Vikings, Patriots, or Texans, but he’ll look to stick on the Panthers’ roster as a backup to Cam Newton.

For now, Newton, Garrett Gilbert, and Heinicke are the only three QBs on Carolina’s roster. At the owner’s meetings, coach Ron Rivera indicated that veteran Derek Anderson could still be re-signed to serve as Newton’s primary backup.

“We’re looking for a guy that can eventually be the No. 2 guy for a long time,” Rivera said “We’re looking for that next guy, not necessarily to replace Derek but to come in and be ready to eventually replace him.”

Texans Claim TE Matt Lengel

April 13th, 2018 at 4:02pm CST by Zachary Links

The Texans have been awarded tight end Matt Lengel off of waivers from the Browns. In order to make room, the team cut quarterback Taylor Heinicke. 

Lengel was one of seven players dropped by Cleveland on Thursday, along with tight end Gavin Escobar, linebacker Max Bullough, defensive back C.J. Smith, wide receivers Bug Howard and Larry Pinkard, and running back Kelvin Taylor. Smith also found a new home on Friday after being claimed by the Broncos.

Lengel, 27, first entered the league as a UDFA with the Bengals in 2015. In 2016, he hooked on with the Patriots where he caught his only NFL touchdown to date. Last year, he was waived/injured by the Pats and found his way to the Browns practice squad. He earned a promotion midway through the year and saw time in a December loss to the Bears.

There’s an opportunity for Lengel to make the Texans’ final cut. He joins a TE group that presently includes Stephen Anderson, Ryan Malleck, MyCole Pruitt, Ryan Malleck, and Jevoni Robinson.

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