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Kris Rhim, ESPN
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Chargers have agreed to a trade with the Atlanta Falcons for quarterback Taylor Heinicke, a source confirmed to ESPN.
The Chargers will send the Falcons a conditional sixth-round pick, the source said.
The move wasn’t a surprise. The Chargers have one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks in Justin Herbert, but after he missed two weeks of training camp with a plantar fasciitis injury in his right foot, it was clear the backup quarterbacks weren’t prepared to keep the team afloat if Herbert’s injury persisted.
Easton Stick, in his sixth NFL season, was terrific in the four games Herbert missed last season with a fractured right index finger. That earned Stick a one-year deal with new management, but throughout training camp and the preseason, Stick didn’t look like the player who started last season or a player who could lead the Chargers if Herbert were injured.
In the Chargers’ three preseason games, Stick finished 25-of-55 with 303 passing yards, 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions.
“I don’t think we’re in a position to feel comfortable,” coach Jim Harbaugh said of the team’s backup quarterbacks after the Chargers’ first preseason game. “I don’t think anybody on the offensive side would be happy with that.”
Heinicke, who is entering his seventh season, has started 29 games in his career. As the Commanders’ full-time starter in 2021, he finished with 3,419 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. The Commanders finished 7-8 that year.
The Chargers made another move Wednesday, trading CB Elijah Molden to the Tennessee Titans for a seventh-round pick.
Molden started 16 of 33 regular-season games in his career with the Titans. He recorded 137 tackles, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. Last season was Molden’s best as a professional, setting career highs in starts (8) and tackles (72). Molden’s father, Alex, played defensive back for the Chargers for two seasons (2001-02).
Molden brings the Chargers additional depth and a special teams player at a position where they struggled last season. The Chargers finished the season allowing 249.8 yards per game, which ranked 29th in the NFL and their highest level since 2013.
News of the trade was first reported by The Athletic.
