Taylor Heinicke: Everything you need to know

The Chargers released Heinicke on Tuesday. The 32-year-old becomes a free agent after losing a summer battle against Trey Lance for the backup QB job in Los Angeles. It's not a great sign for Henicke's NFL future, but he may nonetheless resurface somewhere else.

Heinicke completed three of five passes for 31 yards in Saturday's 30-23 preseason loss to the 49ers. Heinicke was the second Chargers quarterback into the game, notably after Trey Lance. The former wasn't asked to do much-- the playcalling heavily slanted toward the run -- though Heinicke did manage to record completions of 12 and 13 yards to Oronde Gadsden and JaQuae Jackson. Saturday's usage suggests Heinicke has slipped to third on the quarterback depth chart, though that won't become entirely clear until the team's Week 1 matchup against the Chiefs.

Heinicke completed just one of five pass attempts for eight yards and had no rushing attempts in Sunday's 27-13 preseason win over the Saints. Starter Justin Herbert sat out for the second exhibition in a row, affording Heinicke the opportunity to make his preseason debut this year. The journeyman backup probably wishes he hadn't on this particular Sunday after completing just one pass across two offensive drives. Heinicke was the early favorite to serve as Herbert's backup come Week 1, but Trey Lance has produced touchdowns in consecutive games and could threaten for the gig. It will be interesting to see what order the two backups are rolled out against the Rams on Saturday.