Taylor Heinicke already has a crazy Jim Harbaugh story after getting traded to Chargers

As part of the final order of business putting the roster together for Week 1, the Atlanta Falcons traded Taylor Heinicke to the Los Angeles Chargers. It bolstered LA's quarterback depth chart, and helped free up some space on Atlanta's side of things.

Chargers fans saw last season, just like Falcons fans did, how easily things can take a turn when a quarterback issue crops up. When Justin Herbert went down and had to miss time, Easton Stick started four games and was not good, although the Falcons were able to stay in the NFC South race even with some quarterback drama.

Heinicke made his NFL debut in the 2017 as a member of the Houston Texans and has bounced around the league since then. He's most known for his 2021 season with Washington where he started 15 games and threw for over 3,400 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Heinicke was supposed to be entering his second season as the backup in Atlanta but now he'll be heading to Los Angeles to backup Justin Herbert. Or at the very least, fighting to backup Herbert, as it appears Stick will still be on the roster.

Well, Heinicke didn't exactly introduce himself in the best way to his new head coach. Heinicke revealed that he was watching a documentary about the sign-stealing at Michigan when he was informed of his trade. Heinicke recalled, "I was like, 'Oh that's funny. I was just watching Jim Harbaugh.'"

Taylor Heinicke might not have made the best first impression

Before agreeing to coach the Chargers, Harbaugh coached at Michigan for nine years. He had just led them to a National Championship during the 2023 season before deciding to step away and rejoin the NFL ranks. Many speculated that this was due to the controversy at Michigan but obviously Harbaugh wasn't going to list that as the reason. He said it because he wanted to win a Lombardi Trophy during his career.

Either way, the Chargers are happy to have him at the helm. When Harbaugh previously coached in the NFL, he had the San Francisco 49ers as a playoff contender nearly every season and helped them reach the Super Bowl in just his second year on the job.

Heinicke's comment was likely harmless, and he wasn't taking a major shot at his new head coach. He'll be battling it out with Stick for the backup job, and Chargers fans hope the journeyman signal-caller wins the gig because he's proven to be a reliable option while Stick has not.