The Carolina Panthers have settled their backup quarterback spot behind starter Bryce Young ahead of free agency.
Andy Dalton has agreed to a two-year contract to return to the Panthers, the team announced Tuesday. The new deal is worth $8 million, according to multiple reports.
Dalton, 37, was temporarily installed as the starter last season when coach Dave Canales benched Young after an 0-2 start. The 14-year veteran went 1-4, throwing for 989 yards and seven touchdowns with six interceptions.
But after Dalton sprained his thumb in a car accident in late October, Young resumed his position as the team’s first-string quarterback. The No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL draft did not relinquish the role and capped the year with seven touchdown passes in his final three games.
‘I’d say we’ll take it week to week, but there are no more weeks,” Canales said after the 44-38 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 18. ‘Bryce is our quarterback. I’m so proud of the way he just took the challenge and just grew every week.”
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Young has lauded Dalton’s mentorship in the two seasons throughout the two have played with each other.
‘Me and Andy are super close,’ Young told reporters in January. ‘From when I first got here, just being able to talk with him through things, him having perspective on a situation that I had never been a part of, I was always leaning on him, always having conversations and just from a day-to-day basis.’
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