“It’s important for every team to have three good quarterbacks,” BattleHawks Head Coach and General Manager Jonathan Hayes said. “As I mentioned previously, we were going to add at least one more quarterback at some point, whether it was through the draft or signing someone. In this case, we’re very excited the league has assigned us Taylor.”
An All-American and Walter Payton Award winner, Heinicke passed for nearly 15,000 yards while at Old Dominion and ranked third all-time in FBS history in total offense, fourth in FBS with 132 touchdown passes and sixth in passing yards.
The 26-year old Heinicke joins quarterbacks Jordan Ta’amu and Brogan Roback on the BattleHawks. Ta’amu was also signed by the XFL and assigned to St. Louis and the team drafted Roback in October.
“Like Jordan, Taylor is someone that we scouted and expressed our interest in to the league,” Hayes said. “His skill set fits nicely with the type of offense we plan to run. And it never hurts to add someone who has additional pro experience. All three quarterbacks will have the chance to show what they can do. And from a work standpoint, it will be beneficial to have three arms to handle all the throws that are going to be made in camp.”
Undrafted in 2015, Heinicke spent time with the Minnesota Vikings (2015-2017), New England Patriots (2017), Houston, Texans (2017) and the Carolina Panthers (2018-2019).
St. Louis will also participate in the XFL Supplemental Draft, which begins today at 11am CT. The BattleHawks will pick eighth in the draft, which will use a snake format and consist of ten minutes per round, one minute per pick, and have a three minute break between rounds. Picks will be shared at XFL.com at the conclusion of the draft.
