On Tuesday, news broke the the Carolina Panthers are expected to agree to terms with Andy Dalton on a two-year/$10M deal that includes $8M fully guaranteed. With PJ Walker set to become a free agent at the league new year and Sam Darnold signing with the San Francisco 49ers, the only remaining quarterbacks under contract for the Carolina Panthers are Matt Corral and Jacob Eason. Corral is coming off a missed rookie season due to a Lisfranc injury suffered in preseason and reports surfaced on Monday that the team would consider a trade for the player they traded up to draft in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. After aggressively acquiring the first overall pick, the writing is all but on the wall that the Panthers made the move to secure their franchise quarterback of the future when the draft rolls around in April.
With CJ Stroud, Anthony Richardson, and Bryce Young being the names tossed around as potential draft choices, the presence of a backup/bridge quarterback could be extremely beneficial. However, you don’t want to break the bank for a veteran quarterback expected to only be used sparingly.
Dalton spent last season with NFC South divisional rival New Orleans Saints where he was signed as a backup but ended up starting 14 games after Jameis Winston was injured early in the season. He threw for 2,871 yards, 18 touchdowns and 9 interceptions with a 66.7% completion rate. After being drafted by the Cincinnati in 2011 and spending nine seasons under center for the Bengals before short stints with the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, and most recently, the Saints. He has thrown for 38,150 yards, 244 touchdowns and 144 interceptions over his career.
