With Sam Darnold dealing with a shoulder injury, the Panthers have brought in some reinforcement at quarterback. The team has signed veteran Matt Barkley, reports NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo (via Twitter).
This offseason, Barkley got $1.1MM on a one-year deal to be Ryan Tannehill‘s backup with the Titans. He didn’t end up making it to the regular season with his new squad, and he’s remained a free agent since early September. Now, with Darnold dealing with a shoulder injury and P.J. Walker as the only healthy QB on Carolina’s roster, Barkley will have another chance to show what he’s got.
The 31-year-old has made the rounds since being drafted by the Eagles in 2013. The former fourth-rounder out of USC has made stops with the Cardinals, Bears, 49ers, Bengals, and Bills, with two tours in Arizona and Buffalo.
Barkley has just seven starts to his credit in total with a 2-5 record in those games. For his career, he’s completed 58.8% of his throws with eleven touchdowns against 22 interceptions. His last start came in 2018, a solid showing and victory over the Jets. Over the past two years, he’s popped in for seven Bills games, lobbing four INTs with just one TD.
Replace one USC bum with another
Barkley is arguably better than Walker, but that’s not exactly a compliment.
Yeah, another guy who’s obviously better than Kap. What a joke
I love Kap too, but being out of the league for this many years might signal the end of his career unfortunately. Being away from competition for that long is tough
He’s most likely not staying in football shape anymore either, I’d be surprised if he’s still readily awaiting a call at this point. A 34 year old Kap who hasn’t played in the NFL since 2016, probably isn’t better then Matt Barkely.