Heinicke is expected to start the Panthers' final two games of the season, Joe Person of The Athletic reports.
Carolina is wisely shutting down Cam Newton (shoulder) after falling out of the playoff hunt. Heinicke went undrafted out of Old Dominion back in 2015 and has just five NFL pass attempts to his name, but he'll at least be in a favorable spot Week 16 against a porous Atlanta defense. He'll then travel to New Orleans in Week 17 to face a Saints defense that may be resting starters in advance of the postseason. With D.J. Moore, Curtis Samuel and Christian McCaffrey all offering considerable YAC potential, it won't come as a major surprise if Heinicke finds some success with a dink-and-dunk approach. The 25-year-old quarterback completed 24 of 36 passes for 323 yards, two touchdowns and one interception during the 2018 preseason, adding five carries for 23 yards. While obviously no match for the man he's replacing, Heinicke ran a 4.63 40-yard dash coming out of college.