Given his very brief stay in free agency this spring, Andy Dalton seemed to be the Plan A for the Carolina Panthers’ Plan B under center—and it’s easy to see why.
Former NFL head coach Marty Mornhinweg, in a recent piece for The 33rd Team, ranked the NFL’s top backup quarterbacks heading into the 2023 season. Carolina’s No. 2 comes in at . . . No. 2!
Mornhinweg, who tops his list with Tyrod Taylor of the New York Giants, writes:
Andy Dalton has had a fine career. The Red Rifle, as he’s known, is 35, so age and injury come into play. He’s started 162 games and has a career passer rating of 87.6. Dalton is an experienced quarterback who teams can trust to come and do the right thing.
He’s 83-77-2 and has passed for more than 38,000 yards. He has 244 touchdowns to 144 interceptions. Dalton gives the Carolina Panthers a quality and experienced backup behind rookie Bryce Young.
Dalton didn’t move behind Young (at least unofficially) until this past week, after head coach Frank Reich confirmed the anticipated switch to reporters following Thursday’s session of organized team activities. The 13th-year veteran was starting off practices with the first-team for the better part of three weeks while 2023’s first overall pick earned his keep.
And now that the keep has been earned, the plan—for Young, Dalton, Reich and the Panthers—remains right on track.
