Football Team's Taylor Heinicke: Getting spot start Saturday

Heinicke will start Saturday's wild-card game against the Buccaneers, Grant Paulsen of The Athletic reports.

With Alex Smith unable to play on his balky right calf, Heinicke will make his second appearance of the campaign. In the first one, Heinicke subbed in for the since jettisoned Dwayne Haskins in Week 16 against the Panthers, completing 12 of 19 passes for 137 yards and one touchdown while turning three carries into 22 yards. Heinicke will have a tougher task on his hands versus a Tampa Bay defense that racked up the fourth-most sacks (48, tied with the Cardinals) this season.