Quarterback Taylor Heinicke got a taste of his new head coach before learning last week that he had been traded to the Chargers.
Heinicke was part of the 53-man roster in Atlanta last Tuesday and said he was at home watching a Netflix documentary about the University of Michigan sign-stealing controversy on Thursday when Falcons head coach Raheem Morris told him he was on his way to play for former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. He said his reaction was “that’s funny” because of what he was watching and his reaction to his first face-to-face time with Harbaugh suggests he agrees with the coach’s belief that he is easy to get along with.
“When I met Jim, I think he exceeds every expectation. Really fun to be around him, so excited to work for him,” Heinicke said, via Joe Reedy of the Associated Press.
Heinicke gives the Chargers a more experienced backup to Justin Herbert after the starter was sidelined during training camp with a foot injury. He said he knows he doesn’t have “the arm talent” of the starter, but his time as a starter in Washington and Atlanta gives him other things to lean on when Harbaugh has to call his number this season.
