Last summer, the Atlanta Falconstraded veteran backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke to the Los Angeles Chargersin exchange for a conditional 2025 seventh-round pick, as the Chargers desperately needed an adequate backup behind Justin Herbert.
The 32-year-old Heinicke only appeared in four games and attempted five passes, which was the best-case scenario for the Chargers. Given his experience and what he added to LA’s QB room last year, the Chargers re-signed the former Falcon to a one-year, $2.5 million deal.
However, Heinicke isn’t guaranteed to win LA’s backup quarterback job this summer. The Chargers added more competition, signing former Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers signal caller Trey Lanceto a one-year deal worth up to $6.2 million.
That said, an inside look at the contract numbers for both QBs shows that the former Falcon has a battle on his hands.
According to Alex Insdorf of BoltBeat.com, Lance’s base salary for 2025 is set at $2.045 million, while Heinicke’s is $2.5 million. However, Insdorf adds “roughly 57%” of Lance’s $2.045 million is guaranteed, setting that number at $1.16M.
New from me: numbers from the#ChargersTrey Lance deal are in.
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99)April 9, 2025
-$2.045M in base (Taylor Heinicke is at $2.5M)
-Roughly 57% of that $2.045M is guaranteed for Lance-it puts him at about $1.16M guaranteed compared to Heinicke's $2M
He's locked in as QB3.https://t.co/hiVTqfosOL
Meanwhile, the former Falcons veteran guarantee is $2 million. Therefore, Lance should be the QB3 from a financial standpoint. However, the former first-round pick is still young in his career and will surely have a chance this preseason to prove his case for the main backup gig. The fact their contracts are pretty similar shows no true leader at this point.
If there’s a coach who knows how to work and develop mobile quarterbacks (Josh Johnson, Colin Kaepernick), it's Jim Harbaugh. That said, Heinicke has a leg up on Lance due to his numerous years of experience over Lance and already spending a full season in the Chargers’ offensive system.
In 2023, with the Falcons, the 32-year-old quarterback appeared in five games (four starts). He completed 54.4 percent of his passes for five touchdowns and four interceptions. Heinicke also added 124 rushing yards and a score on the ground.
Training camp and preseason will be important for Heinicke to show that he can still compete and run the offense just in case the Chargers lose Herbert to an injury.
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