Veteran quarterback Taylor Heinicke, who went from undrafted to a playoff starter in the NFL, announced his retirement on Thursday.

“For 25 years, I had the pleasure to play this great sport of football,” Heinicke wrote in an Instagram post. “It has taught me a lot, not only about myself but about life as well. Many ups and downs throughout the years, but the ups outweigh the downs tenfold. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would’ve been able to live this life.

“Thank you to all who have supported me in this journey. Thank you all who have believed in me. And thank you to those who gave me the opportunity to live out my childhood dream. Excited for this next chapter of my life!”

Heinicke, 33, signed with the then-Washington Football Team in 2020 after appearing in seven games (one start) over the 2017 and 2018 seasons with the Houston Texans and Carolina Panthers, respectively.

A month after signing to the practice squad, he started Washington’s wild-card playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Jan. 9, 2021, completing 26 of 44 passes for 306 yards, a touchdown and an interception in a 31-23 loss.

That performance led Washington to sign Heinicke to a two-year contract. He made 15 of his 29 career starts in 2021 for Washington, completing 65% of his passes for 3,419 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He also ran for 313 yards in 2021, finishing with a 7-8 record as a starter.

Heinicke last played for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024 and was released from the team during preseason ahead of the 2025 season.

He finishes his career with 6,663 yards, 39 touchdowns and 28 interceptions in 42 games for the Texans, Panthers, Washington Commanders (2020-22), Atlanta Falcons (2023) and Chargers. Heinicke went 13-15-1 as an NFL starter.

–Field Level Media

The Minnesota Vikings added to their receiver depth by agreeing to deal with former San Francisco 49ers receiver Jauan Jennings on Thursday.

The team didn’t disclose the terms, but The Athletic reported it’s a one-year deal with a base salary of $8 million with incentives which could pay Jennings as much as $13 million.

Jennings, 28, was a seventh-round pick by the 49ers in 2020 but became a critical member of their receiver corps. He broke out with 975 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 77 catches in 2024 and led all of San Francisco’s receivers with 643 yards last season, catching a team- and career-high nine touchdown passes.

Over five seasons of action with the 49ers, Jennings caught 210 passes for 2,581 yards and 22 touchdowns.

San Francisco elected not to re-sign him this offseason, allowing Minnesota to add to one of the better receiver rooms in the league as Jennings joins Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.

That’s a strong trio of options for whoever wins the Vikings’ quarterback competition between 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy and free-agent signee Kyler Murray.

–Field Level Media

Jordan Staal and Andrei Svechnikov each had a goal and an assist Thursday as the visiting Carolina Hurricanes topped the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their best-of-seven second-round series.

Frederik Andersen made 18 saves and Jalen Chatfield scored the go-ahead goal for Carolina, which improved to 7-0 this postseason. The Hurricanes will go for a sweep when the teams reconvene in Philadelphia for Game 4 on Saturday.

After upsetting the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round, Philadelphia has had its hands full with the Hurricanes. Dan Vladar made 26 saves and Trevor Zegras scored the lone goal for the Flyers, who went 0-for-5 with the man advantage while allowing two power-play goals as well as a shorthanded tally.

With the game tied 1-1 late in the second, Philadelphia began a power play with an offensive zone draw, but it was Carolina that scored 11 seconds later. Jordan Martinook made a diving play to spring a 2-on-1, and Staal fed Chatfield for a one-timer that zipped just under the crossbar.

The Flyers failed to score on that power play, even though they had a two-man advantage for more than a minute of it.

The Hurricanes tacked on a pair of third-period goals – Svechnikov’s one-timer on a 4-on-3 power play and Nikolaj Ehlers’ wrister on a breakaway.

The Flyers pressured Andersen early with a handful of great chances in the first period.

Travis Konecny snuck behind the Carolina defense, only to have his shot skim off the post. Several minutes later, Porter Martone hit the crossbar. Then the rookie winger set up Alex Bump on a great opportunity on a 2-on-0 in front of the net, but Andersen was up to the challenge.

Finally, a shot by Rasmus Ristolainen slipped through Andersen and was about to cross the goal line when Jaccob Slavin swept it away at the last moment.

In the midst of the Flyers’ pressure, the Hurricanes took a 1-0 lead. A shot by Svechnikov hit off the boards and caromed back in front of the crease, where Staal swept the puck off Vladar and into the net.

Carolina led 1-0 after one period, but Philadelphia tied it up 2:31 into the second. A loose puck found its way to Zegras in the right circle, and he elevated a shot past Andersen to forge a 1-1 tie.

Emotions ran high throughout the third period, where 36 of the game’s 58 penalty minutes were given out. That included a game misconduct on Konecny with 2:19 left and 26 penalty minutes in the final three minutes when the game had been effectively decided.

–Field Level Media