Taylor Heinicke had an up-and-down performance against the Bills in the Minnesota Vikings preseason opener and attributed it to feeling ‘antsy’.
It had been almost 2 years since Taylor Heinicke took the field for the Minnesota Vikings. The young quarterback suffered a torn tendon in his leg, in a non-football injury that forced him to miss the entire 2016 season.
That is why it was great to see Heinicke on the field for the Vikings preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday, August 10, 2017. During that contest, Heinicke put up a hit-or-miss performance, but getting that experience again in live action is necessary to get him back on track.
Recently, Taylor Heinicke spoke with the Pioneer Press about getting back on the field and playing some football for the Vikings once again:
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"“It was good to go out there in live action and get hit a little bit,’’ Heinicke said. “But it was fun. It was a good time.”"
Heinicke made some great plays. He recovered well from a low snap to turn it into a 19 yard scramble and a first down. However, he also threw an interception on a poor decision. The quarterback attributes that to jitters.
"“I think I needed to calm down a little bit,” Heinicke said. “I think I was a little antsy at first, excited. It was the first time getting on the field in two years, but it wasn’t as clean as I would have liked. So I’m just going to go watch film and try to get better from it.”"
Taylor Heinicke will get plenty more opportunities to prove himself to the Minnesota Vikings. He will see action in the next preseason contest against the Seattle Seahawks as well as the remaining exhibition contests of the preseason. Hopefully, he can get those nerves under control and continue to impress the team’s coaching staff and fans.