CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Taylor Heinicke's mom screamed in the phone Tuesday when he called to say he was making his first NFL start Sunday when the Carolina Panthers face his hometown Atlanta Falcons (1 p.m. ET, Fox). The 25-year-old quarterback could hear his stepfather "going crazy" in the background.
But the person Heinicke most wanted to share the news with, he couldn't.
Heinicke's face swelled with emotion on Thursday as he recalled how his father, Brett, his "best friend," died of cardiac arrest when Heinicke was an 18-year-old just finishing up his freshman season at Old Dominion.