The State of the Panthers Quarterback Room
The Panthers have had one lingering issue that goes back to pre-season. The Panthers have no quarterback depth. Bryce Young is the clear starter, and there is no debate about that. Outside of Young, the Panthers hit a wall. There are options, but it is not easy to find a quarterback capable of running an NFL offense. With the Panthers on the cusp of a playoff run, they cannot afford to drop games.
The current long-time backup of Young, and current QB2, is Andy Dalton. Dalton has had a storied career in the league, being drafted in 2011. Since being drafted, Dalton has captured the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award and three Pro Bowls. The former Cincinnati Bengal was signed to mentor and help nurture Young back in 2023. Dalton has served his role faithfully, even stepping in for Young in 2024. Dalton is at the end of his career. At 38, he has visibly lost a step. Dalton stepped in for Young in Week Eight, after an injury, to a dismal performance. The Panthers only scored nine points and had only 244 yards of offense with Dalton under center. To make matters worse, Dalton was injured, with Dalton saying he broke his thumb mid-game. Outside of Dalton, who is there to take over as QB2?
In the preseason, there was a carousel. Jack Plummer was the QB3 and took over after Dalton took a big hit in a preseason game. Plummer was, well, awful. The Panthers signed reigning UFL MVP, Bryce Perkins, for the last preseason game of the year. Perkins was also lackluster, with neither player making the final cuts. Former Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker signed with the Panthers' practice squad in August. Hooker has also been lackluster, failing to get off the ground with both the Lions and the Panthers. With Dalton, likely to miss time, the Panthers signed Mike White to the practice squad on October 21st. Today, they elevated White to the active roster after putting guard Brady Christensen on injured reserve. White has been a career backup, spending time bouncing around the league. His most prominent role was with the New York Jets in 2022, where he took over for Zach Wilson. White is far from the best quarterback, but the position as a whole is shallow. Young is back to practice, a full participant today, so that White won’t get the start just yet. Should anything happen to Young, he is the next man up.
