Joel Stave could be this year’s version of Taylor Heinicke
By Dan Zinski
Joel Stave could play himself into a spot on the Vikings’ 53-man roster this year, the same way Taylor Heinicke did in 2015.
Fortunes can change fast in the NFL.
Take the case of Taylor Heinicke for example. The QB was a scrappy UDFA out of Old Dominion when he hit the field for the Vikings last year in preseason.
By showing tons of grit, and a little quarterbacking skill, the unheralded Heinicke surprisingly played himself into a spot on the Vikings’ 53-man roster.
Heinicke’s future looked bright going into 2016. There was even talk that he might push Shaun Hill out of the backup job.
And then Heinicke decided to help his buddy break into his locked apartment by smashing a window. Heinicke slashed his foot and landed on the Non-Football Injury list, ending his chance to challenge veteran Shaun Hill for the #2 QB job.
Enter former Wisconsin Badgers QB Joel Stave.
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With Heinicke out, UDFA Stave immediately moved up one slot on the depth chart. There’s a big difference between #3 QB preseason snaps and #4 QB preseason snaps, in terms of quantity and quality.
Stave’s first audition under the bright lights Friday night in Cincinnati started auspiciously as in the third quarter he led the Vikings on a ten-play, 74-yard scoring drive.
Stave’s first pass went for 13 yards to David Morgan, then he hit Laquon Treadwell for ten.
Stave and the Vikings dinked-and-dunked their way down to the Bengals’ 32. Stave then found Morgan again, this time for 22 yards. That play set up C.J. Ham’s ten-yard touchdown run.
It was a decidedly Taylor Heinicke-like performance.
Things weren’t all rosy on the evening for Stave though. His first pass on the next drive, a short one intended for Isaac Fruechte, was picked off by the Bengals’ Jimmy Wilson.
Stave would finish with 76 yards on 8-of-13 passing and that one interception. Not a bad start.
But does this one encouraging-if-imperfect performance really mean Stave is destined to be this year’s Taylor Heinicke? Not hardly.
Stave has to follow that performance up with more growth in practice and in preseason games. Unless the Vikings decide to sign another QB, Stave should get plenty of snaps.
Next: Morgan makes his case to play
The odds may be against him but Stave does have a few things working in his favor. He’s a big strapping lad and he has a nice arm, making him a very Norv Turner kind of quarterback. He’s also pretty tenacious. He suffered the yips in 2014 but battled through it and returned to lead the Badgers to a berth in the Big-10 title game and an Outback Bowl win over Auburn.
The tenacity factor is the one big thing Stave shares in common with Taylor Heinicke. Mike Zimmer said last year that he liked Heinicke’s toughness. Joel Stave also has some toughness to him.
Stave happens to be bigger than Heinicke and can throw it farther. If he can ever harness that arm and develop some consistency, Stave could carve out a spot for himself as an NFL backup.
Meanwhile, Taylor Heinicke crutches around with a cut-up foot. Fortune is indeed fickle, my friends.