Getty Image / Kevin Abele
The Carolina Panthers have already made the biggest move so far this offseason.
They dealt 4 draft picks, including the 9th pick in this year’s NFL Draft, plus DJ Moore to the Chicago Bears in exchange for the 1st overall pick this year.
They made the move to be able to land whichever QB they prefer in this year’s draft class, but it appears they weren’t done making moves to address the position.
Today they made a move to address the team’s short-term needs at the position.
According to NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Panthers have reached an agreement with veteran quarterback Andy Dalton on a 2-year deal worth $10 million.
Veteran free-agent QB Andy Dalton is expected to reach agreement on a two-year, $10 million deal that includes $8 million fully guaranteed with the Carolina Panthers, per source. Contract max value is $17 million. pic.twitter.com/GCBhqpQ0H8
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 14, 2023
Andy Dalton’s ability to continue convincing teams to start him has gotten pretty impressive at this point in his career.
Back in 2020, he went to the Dallas Cowboys to back up Dak Prescott. He was called into action as the starter when Dak was injured. He averaged less than 200 yards per game as their starter and had a losing record, but was able to find another starting job the following year.
Dalton headed to Chicago to join a Bears QB room the included Justin Fields and Nick Foles. He opened the year as their starter, but played poorly enough that he managed to lose the starting job to a rookie that the coaching staff wasn’t actually ready to start.
In 2022, he headed to New Orleans and wasn’t expected to start, but got an opportunity when Jameis Winston was injured.
He returned to being a serviceable starter, but was barely over 200 passing yards per game and once again put together a losing record. He also happened to play one of his worst games of the year in the last game of the season against the Panthers.
The Saints scored only 7 points in that game.
That wasn’t enough to deter the Panthers from signing him to a deal and now it looks like he’ll get another chance to be a starter while the first pick in this year’s draft takes some time to adjust to the NFL game.