National Football League

For WFT quarterback Taylor Heinicke, proving himself isn't a one-time thing

Updated Sep. 30, 2021 11:36 p.m. ET

By Martin Rogers
FOX Sports Columnist

When you’re Taylor Heinicke – starting quarterback for the Washington Football Team, former undrafted free agent, former XFL back-up, formerly essentially retired from the sport – proving yourself isn’t a one-time thing.

It’s an every-week deal, pretty much, especially coming off one of the most difficult and disappointing performances of your National Football League career.

When Heinicke plays well – like he most certainly did in a wild-card weekend defeat against eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay in January: it is a story everyone loves, the plucky undersized scrapper who refused to give up on a pro career even when it looked shot.

But there is a downside to being an underdog, and it’s that you’re only ever one game away from being doubted all over again by the critics who wonder whether the early scouting reports were actually right and that the good showings have been the blip.

That’s where Heinicke is right now. He's coming out of last weekend’s 43-21 defeat to the Buffalo Bills where he went 14-for-24 with two interceptions, despite having plenty of time and solid protection. And he's going into a Sunday visit with the Atlanta Falcons (1 p.m. ET on FOX) that isn’t a definitively must-win encounter but has plenty in common with one.

Yet whatever skepticism might be felt towards Heinicke from NFL observers, it is not shared by his favored receiver Terry McLaurin, who believes the QB’s story of struggle and perseverance is a strong message for a team trying to find its way back to a repeat division title.

"Someone like Taylor may not have all the national attention and praise, but he doesn’t seek that," McLaurin told me via telephone. "He just goes about his job, he has done that ever since he got here and it has been cool to see him develop.

"A lot of people see what Taylor does on the field but they don’t necessarily see the preparation and attitude he brings into the building every day. As a team, we have the most confidence in him. He just seems always ready for his moment. Last week obviously wasn’t ideal for any of us, but he takes accountability and you know he is going to come back and learn from it."

Heinicke went through an exhilarating whirlwind last December. First, his engineering degree at Old Dominion was interrupted when Washington signed him to their practice squad. Eleven days later, he was promoted to the active roster. Then Dwayne Haskins was benched and ultimately released, then Alex Smith got injured and suddenly, there he was, in the starting spot in the NFL postseason against a certain soon-to-be-seven-time world champion in Tom Brady.

His efforts in the wild-card game, including an instantly viral dive for the pylon for a touchdown, earned him a two-year deal, and when Ryan Fitzpatrick got hurt in Game 1 this season, Heinicke came in again for another crack at starting.

However, after positive signs in the opening two weeks, the Bills game prompted him to hear two words that are enough to make any QB shiver – "game manager." That damned-with-faint-praise descriptor is what WFT Ron Rivera said Heinicke should actually aspire to be, indicating that he wants him to be safe and unspectacular, and keep the offense on a tight leash.

"I have no problem with it," Heinicke told reporters. "That’s what every quarterback should be, a game manager. You take what’s there, take what’s given, and you move the ball down the field. That’s something I want to do, that’s something I want to be, but at the same time, I know there’s also other aspects of my game that can help, whether it’s on my feet or whatnot. Game manager is fine with me."

With the Dallas Cowboys showing significant signs of improvement, it may take a far better showing to win the NFC East this time around, unlike last year, when for a while it seemed as if even a 5-11 mark might be sufficient to win the division. Ultimately, Washington squeezed into first at 7-9, winning five of its last seven.

Heinicke values McLaurin’s support and reciprocates it. During his midweek press conference, he wore a piece of McLaurin merchandise, a T-shirt with a "Scary Terry" motif and a Halloween figure on the front.

"We are both competitors," McLaurin added. "We are team-first guys and we want to do whatever we can to help the team win. The chemistry is really built in the building. I am extremely supportive of what he is doing, I think it has been noted how much I believe in him and vice versa. We have a good relationship as men outside of being teammates."

McLaurin’s interview with me was courtesy of his partnership with Team Milk, and he extolled the virtues of milk as a vital source of nutrition for elite athletes. The 26-year-old, third-year wide receiver out of Ohio State drinks chocolate milk after training sessions and games and firmly believes in its restorative properties.

Washington is a marginal -118 favorite this week against the Falcons and can scarcely afford to slip to 1-3, with home fixtures against the New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs to follow.

And so Heinicke will get another chance to shine, to show what he’s capable of and to make people forget in part about last week.

Game manager or not, he’s in the game, which is right where he wants to be.

Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider Newsletter. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.