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Andy Dalton

Panthers Place OL Brady Christensen On IR, Sign QB Mike White To Active Roster

November 2nd, 2025 at 9:01am CST by Nikhil Mehta

NOVEMBER 2: The thumb on Dalton’s throwing hand is actually broken, per Person (subscription required). Dalton broke the thumb during the second series of the Buffalo contest, though he did not immediately tell the coaching staff about the injury.

Young returned to practice as a full participant on Wednesday, and he has no injury designation for Week 9. He will therefore return to his QB1 post.

OCTOBER 30: Panthers offensive lineman Brady Christensen underwent surgery for a torn Achilles on Wednesday and was placed on injured reserve Thursday, per team reporter Darin Gantt.

Christensen went down in the Panthers’ Week 8 loss to the Bills and will miss the rest of the season. He had started the last four games at right guard after Robert Hunt and Chandler Zavala both landed on injured reserve. Five-year veteran Jake Curhan finished the game at right guard.

Christensen’s injury was one of several to the Panthers’ offensive line on Sunday. Center Cade Mays injured his ankle and right tackle Taylor Moton injured his knee; they were replaced by Austin Corbett and Yosh Nijman, respectively. Head coach Dave Canales said this week (via Gant and his colleague Kassidy Hill) that Mays was not expected to play in Week 9, but Moton might. That would keep Corbett at center and potentially insert Nijman into the starting lineup.

At right guard, the Panthers could stick with Curhan, but Zavala is expected to be activated from IR ahead of Sunday’s game against the Packers, according to The Athletic’s Joe Person. That will likely position him to start, potentially for the rest of the season if Hunt does not come back.

With the open spot on their roster, the Panthers promoted veteran quarterback Mike White from the practice squad. That may not be a good sign for Andy Dalton‘s availability this week. He is dealing with a thumb injury on his throwing hand and did not practice on Wednesday. Bryce Young is trending towards a return after missing Week 8 with a high ankle sprain; if Dalton can’t go, White would be Young’s backup on Sunday.

The Panthers also filled the open practice squad spot created by White’s promotion by re-signing defensive tackle Jaden Crumedy.

Panthers QB Bryce Young Dealing With High Ankle Sprain, Will Miss Week 8

October 24th, 2025 at 12:10pm CST by Adam La Rose

OCTOBER 24: Young has been listed as doubtful on the Panthers’ injury report. While that would leave the door open to him playing in theory, as team spokesperson has since said (via ESPN’s David Newton) Dalton will get the start for Week 8 regardless of whether or not Young is able to dress.

OCTOBER 20: The Panthers won their third straight game on Sunday, but quarterback Bryce Young was unable to finish the game. Further missed time is likely in store.

Young suffered a high ankle sprain on Sunday. X-rays taken yesterday on the injury were negative, per Joe Person of The Athletic. That still left an MRI for today, though, and it provided more clarity on the ailment. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports Young is expected to miss Week 8 given the results of today’s imaging.

A precise timeline is not in place at this point. As Pelissero notes, however, injuries such as this generally carry a recovery timeframe of two to four weeks. That could put Young in line to miss more than one contest, but for now the Panthers hope that only one week on the sidelines will be needed. In any case, Andy Dalton is now in position to handle QB1 duties for a period.

Young’s third season in the NFL (and second under head coach Dave Canales) has been inconsistent. The former No. 1 pick has managed to essentially duplicate his performances from 2024 in terms of completion percentage and passer rating. He has thrown 11 touchdown passes but also five interceptions, and a true breakthrough as a franchise quarterback has proven to be elusive. Still, being shorthanded under center will be an unwanted development for Carolina in advance of a matchup against the Bills.

Thanks to their winning streak, the Panthers sit at 4-3 on the year. That puts them in second in the NFC South for now. Remaining in postseason contention would be key for the team as stability on the sidelines and under center is sought out. It is still uncertain at this point if Young will be tasked with handling starting duties for the long term, but he will be extension-eligible after this season. A decision will need to be made on the former Heisman winner’s fifth-option during the spring as a result, with a long-term commitment also being possible.

Part of how the Panthers proceed with Young will depend on his availability. The 24-year-old has avoided significant missed time through injury to date, and continuing in that regard will be important as he aims to develop further under Canales and Co (although his rookie season resulted one game sidelined due to the same injury). As such, it will be interesting to see how quickly Young manages to return to action.

Dalton has been in Carolina since 2023. The soon-to-be 38-year-old has made six starts as a Panther, and that figure is now set to increase. Dalton is under contract through 2026 after re-signing on an $8MM pact this offseason. That investment on the part of the Panthers was aimed at keeping a high-floor backup in the fold with Young continuing to be evaluated as a potential long-term answer under center. The decision to keep Dalton in the mix saw him handle the close stages of yesterday’s win, and he will be tasked with maintaining Carolina’s momentum against a Bills team coming off its bye.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/17/25

August 17th, 2025 at 8:28pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are the latest minor moves from around the NFL:

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Tennessee Titans

  • Waived: DL Philip Blidi

Perkins, the reigning UFL MVP, will add some depth to the Panthers’ quarterback room with Andy Dalton sidelined by an elbow injury, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Perkins appeared in five games for the Rams between 2020 and 2022, but has not played in the last two NFL seasons.

The Broncos were looking to add another fullback after a hamstring injury to starter Michael Burton, per Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette. They auditioned Prentice, Khari Blasingame, and Troy Hairston on Saturday, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, with Prentice earning a roster spot. This will be his second stint in Denver after starting his career there as an undrafted rookie in 2021.

Panthers Re-Sign QB Andy Dalton

February 21st, 2025 at 8:58am CST by Nikhil Mehta

FEBRUARY 21: The deal is now official, and Over the Cap notes Dalton’s locked in compensation includes a $2.65MM signing bonus. Thanks to a 2027 void year, his cap charges will check in at $3.2MM and $5.85MM for the next two seasons while serving as a cost-effective backup in Carolina.

FEBRUARY 18: The Panthers have signed quarterback Andy Dalton to a two-year, $8MM extension, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The deal includes $6MM in fully guaranteed money with a maximum value of $10MM.

Dalton will be under contract in Carolina through the 2026 season and can continue his mentorship of former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, with whom he has a “close relationship,” according to Schefter.

Both quarterbacks earned praise from within and without the Panthers organization for how they handled the tumultuous 2024 season. Young was benched after just two games with Dalton starting Weeks 3 through 7. In that span, he completed 106 of his 159 passes for 989 yards, seven touchdowns, and six interceptions.

The Panthers went 1-4 with Dalton under center before a car accident sidelined him in Week 8, giving Young another opportunity to start. Dalton only missed one game, but Young held onto the starting gig on a week-to-week basis. After increasingly positive pronouncements from head coach Dave Canales, Young was finally declared the full-time starter to close out the season.

The Panthers have backed Young as their starter in 2025, but the maturity and experience Dalton demonstrated last season was worth keeping around. He is entering his 15th season and will turn 38 years old in October, so this could be his last contract. With at least $6MM coming his way, Dalton’s career earnings will be at least $115MM, per OvertheCap, and could reach $120MM if he hits the maximum value of the deal.

Dalton’s extension with the Panthers will keep him from hitting free agency, where he was expected to draw interest in the backup quarterback market. The Dolphins explored trading for Dalton last September, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, and were expected to renew their pursuit if he became available in March. Instead, they will likely pivot to Marcus Mariota, provided the Commanders don’t follow the Panthers’ lead and re-sign their veteran backup.

Dolphins Eyeing Marcus Mariota, Andy Dalton?

February 3rd, 2025 at 5:36pm CST by Ben Levine

After cycling through a handful of backup quarterbacks in 2024, the Dolphins are determined to find a capable contingency plan for Tua Tagovailoa. That search could lead them to a former first-round pick, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported today that the Dolphins could be a suitor for free agent QB Marcus Mariota (via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald).

[RELATED: Dolphins To Prioritize Backup QB Job]

Schefter noted the friendship between Mariota and Tagovailoa, plus the lack of state income taxes. While Mariota’s stats have generally been underwhelming throughout his career, he’s shown an ability to keep his team afloat. In 74 career starts, the former second-overall pick has gone 34-40, including a three-year span with the Titans where he finished with a winning record.

Most recently, Mariota has served as a backup in stops with the Raiders, Falcons, Eagles, and Commanders. He did garner 13 starts with Atlanta in 2022, but he’s otherwise been held to a bench role over the past five seasons. Over that span, Mariota has completed 63.2 percent of his passes for 2,977 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. He spent the 2024 campaign in Washington, where he tossed four touchdowns in three relief appearances.

Jackson adds another name to Miami’s impending search: Andy Dalton, with the reporter noting that the veteran is “held in high regard” by the organization. Dalton has garnered starts at all of his post-Bengals stops, although that wasn’t always necessarily the plan. The 37-year-old got five starts for the Panthers this past season while filling in for the struggling Bryce Young, with Dalton guiding his squad to only a 1-4 record while tossing seven touchdowns vs. six interceptions.

While the Dolphins pursued “a couple of top-flight backup QBs” last offseason, the team ultimately stuck with Skylar Thompson as their initial QB2 while releasing Mike White from the roster. Thompson only got one start for the Dolphins, as the team also gave Tyler Huntley and Tim Boyle looks under center. The trio of backup options represented a clear step back from Tagovailoa, and when the QB1 was sidelined early in the season, the Dolphins were limited to only 40 total points in four games. The Dolphins are clearly looking to avoid a similar situation in 2025.

Panthers To Start Bryce Young In Week 8

October 23rd, 2024 at 2:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

Andy Dalton was involved in a car accident Tuesday. While the Carolina starter did not need to be hospitalized, Dave Canales confirmed the veteran passer sustained a thumb sprain. Dalton is not expected to play against the Broncos in Week 8.

This will push Bryce Young back into action; Canales said the former No. 1 overall pick will be at the controls in Denver. Canales hopes Dalton can return as the backup, potentially pointing to a Young path back to the full-time QB1 role even when the more experienced passer is healthy. Regardless of how this will shake out, Young is coming back after five games on the bench.

Traveling with his wife, three kids and their dog, Dalton suffered the thumb injury in the accident — which occurred a few minutes away from Bank of America Stadium, David Newton of ESPN.com notes. Neither Dalton nor his family needed to be hospitalized as a result of the wreck, but the sprain involving the QB’s throwing thumb poses a problem for his availability. Dalton did not practice Wednesday.

Rumors suggesting the Panthers were done with Young circulated following his Week 3 benching. The 5-foot-10 QB struggled mightily to start his second season, marking no notable improvement from a rough rookie year. Canales had initially said Young would be back to start in Week 3, but upon closer inspection (and conversations with ownership), the new Carolina HC benched the player the franchise mortgaged its future for in 2023. Young has seen action since, and as the losses pile up (following a Dalton-led win over the Raiders), it makes sense for the 1-6 team to give the unproven player more time.

At least four teams contacted the Panthers about Young, but the team is not interested in trading the former Heisman winner. That said, rumblings about a separation in 2025 emerged soon after the benching, as Young was “pissed” about being pulled 18 starts into his career. The Panthers’ party line pointed to Young receiving another chance in 2024, labeling the benching a reset. But a report that came out soon after Canales’ call did not depict the demotion that way, with Dalton being viewed as the starter unless an injury intervened.

Dalton’s minor injury does give the Panthers another chance to look at Young. Carolina’s offense has fared better under Dalton, as Young’s most recent start featured 84 passing yards on 26 attempts. He went 13 of 30 in Week 1. While Deshaun Watson‘s QBR (23.5) ranks last among qualified options, Young holds a 10.4 number. Young’s 34.1 mark ranked ahead of only Zach Wilson in 2023, leading the Panthers — who made some shaky decisions in terms of weaponry around their new QB last year — to add several pieces this offseason. Dalton ranks 17th in QBR this season.

Despite Diontae Johnson and Xavier Legette joining Adam Thielen at receiver and Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis coming in as high-priced guards, Young struggled to the point veterans complained about the state of the offense. That produced a strikingly quick hook, but Young’s second chance will begin soon. Denver’s defense has powered its operation this season, representing a tough spot for Young. Vance Joseph‘s unit ranks third in points and yards allowed.

NFC South Notes: Panthers, Saints, Dennis

October 6th, 2024 at 10:11pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Bryce Young may have entered the game in place of Andy Dalton during the Panthers‘ Week 5 loss to the Bears, but head coach Dave Canales told media that Dalton would remain the team’s starting quarterback moving forward.

Canales explained that the quarterback change was more about limiting Dalton’s exposure behind an injured Carolina offensive line than it was about giving Young another opportunity to earn the starting gig, according to Joe Person of The Athletic. The Panthers lost starting center Austin Corbett and starting right tackle Taylor Moton to injuries during Sunday’s loss, forcing Canales to prioritize Dalton’s health with Carolina trailing by four possessions.

“We had a couple of injuries on the offensive line and wanting to get [Young] in there, get some live reps,” Canales said. “It was something where I wanted to get Andy out of there and just give Bryce an opportunity to continue some football in there while we had time.”

Canales confirmed that Dalton would start for the Panthers in Week 6, though it’s worth noting that he made a similar declaration about Young’s job safety after the former No. 1 overall pick struggled in Week 2 against the Chargers. Canales declined to offer any insight on the Panthers’ long-term plans for Young, and though his history as a quarterback-friendly coach suggests he could still get the best out of his young signal-caller, rumblings about a 2025 trade have surfaced. The Panthers rebuffed four trade inquiries already.

Here is the latest from the NFC South:

  • The Saints ruled tight end Taysom Hill out of their Monday night matchup with the Chiefs due to a rib injury. Hill missed the Saints’ Week 3 matchup against the Eagles with a chest injury, but returned to full practice participation the following week. He then sustained fractured ribs against the Falcons in Week 4, sidelining him for Week 5 and potentially beyond. Dennis Allen (via ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell) declined to say how may ribs Hill fractured. Foster Moreau and Juwan Johnson will take on a bigger role in New Orleans’ offense with Hill sidelined, but his versatility will be difficult for offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak to replace. He may have to take some Hill-focused plays out of his playbook entirely with his unique offensive weapon absent from the lineup.
  • The Saints‘ offense stunned the NFL with its explosive start to the year, dropping 91 points on their first two opponents before cooling off in Weeks 3 and 4. Head coach Dennis Allen worked with Kubiak to simplify the offense for Derek Carr after years of complexity became ingrained in New Orleans’ system under Sean Payton and Drew Brees. Carr is making fewer adjustments at the line of scrimmage, while Kubiak has dialed up play action at a league-leading frequency.
  • Second-year Buccaneers linebacker SirVocea Dennis is not expected to return from injured reserve anytime soon, per Greg Auman of The Athletic. Dennis injured his shoulder over the summer but played in Tampa Bay’s first three games before leaving in Week 4 after aggravating the issue. The Buccaneers placed Dennis on IR on October 1, sidelining him through at least Week 8. Tampa Bay has relied on K.J. Britt to take on Dennis’ vacated snaps after the duo began the year splitting time on the field alongside veteran Lavonte David.
  • The Falcons restructured the contract of veteran defensive tackle David Onyemata recently, per ESPN’s Field Yates, creating $4.85MM of cap space. Onyemata remains tied to the three-year, $35MM deal he signed in March 2023. This update balloons the DT’s 2025 cap number to $16.93MM. For 2024, however, Atlanta now has just under $10MM in cap space, ranking 20th in the NFL.

David Tepper Signed Off On Benching Bryce Young

October 4th, 2024 at 10:12pm CST by Ely Allen

So much transpired to land quarterback Bryce Young in Carolina last year. A Panthers team that had struggled to find consistency at quarterback after the departure of Cam Newton decided to shy away from signing more free agents like Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Darnold, and Baker Mayfield and draft and develop a passer. They took an opportunity to trade with Chicago into the top spot and made the decision on who would lead their offense in the coming years.

With hindsight being 20/20, it’s easy for outsiders to speculate on the decision-making that led Carolina to take Young instead of C.J. Stroud, who has looked much more accomplished and successful in his first 23 weeks of football (including last year’s playoffs). While it seems crystal-clear at this point who the right decision was, as Young sits on the bench with a 2-16 record as a starter and Stroud continues to start with a 12-7 record, Adam Jahns and Joe Person of The Athletic report that there was very little doubt when the decision was being made.

Team owner David Tepper‘s comments over time have made it clear that Young was the unanimous choice over Stroud with the No. 1 overall pick last year. While there was certainly some intrigue around Stroud, and some argued that the S2 cognitive test — a test that Stroud performed poorly on but Young nearly perfected — was weighted too much, the decision was still a clear one.

General manager at the time, Scott Fitterer reportedly met with then-head coach Frank Reich and the scouting staff shortly after Reich’s hiring. Fitterer went around the table and posed a question to the scouts: if they traded up for the top pick, which quarterback would they choose? All of the scouts chose Young.

Fastforward to today: Young sits on the bench, his opportunities to improve “limited to QB meetings, individual drills, and his snaps running the scout-team offense against the first-team defense.” The leash was short on Young to start the season, but with Carolina scoring only 13 points while giving up 73 in the first two weeks, it was clear a change was necessary, and Tepper signed off on the demotion.

The immediate improvement was obvious. 204 passing yards in the first two weeks was improved to 526 when Andy Dalton took over the offense. With the passing game working, the run game took off, too, improving from 148 yards in the first two contests to 286 in the next two. The team has decreased turnovers by the offense from four under Young to only one under Dalton, and after only scoring 13 points before the change, the Panthers have put a combined 60 on the scoreboard since.

There are still sentiments that Young will be able to return to a starting role at some point, perhaps even this year. For now, though, he’ll get the opportunity that he didn’t get his rookie season to sit behind a seasoned veteran and learn. It’s Dalton’s offense for now, but Young can take this time to develop and earn his way back into the lofty expectations that came with his selection as the first overall pick in 2023.

Panthers To Start Andy Dalton In Week 3

September 16th, 2024 at 10:30pm CST by Adam La Rose

In the wake of another poor showing by Bryce Young, Panthers head coach Dave Canales offered a public vote of confidence in the 2023 first overall pick. A very quick reversal has been made regarding the team’s quarterback depth chart, however.

Carolina will in fact go with Andy Dalton in Week 3, Tom Pelissero reports. The veteran made one start last season while Young was injured, and he will now take charge of an offense desperately in need of improvement. Dating back to end of the 2023 campaign, the Panthers have scored just 13 points in their past four games. This decision was driven by Canales along with general manager Dan Morgan and EVP Brandt Tillis, ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds.

Young himself is not solely responsible for the team’s underwhelming production, obviously, but the 23-year-old struggled throughout his rookie campaign and has not shown signs of improvement early in the 2024 season. Young’s 8.9 QBR ranks dead last in the NFL through two weeks. Dalton should offer a degree of stability over at least the short term while Canales aims to develop Carolina’s offense.

Of course, the former Buccaneers OC was hired as head coach in large part for his potential in helping Young rebound from his rookie campaign. The Alabama product will now spend time on the sidelines as part of that process while Dalton, 36, receives a second look during his Carolina tenure. The longtime Bengals starter became a journeyman backup starting in 2020 when he joined the Cowboys.

That one-year stint was followed by one in Chicago of the same length. With the Bears turning to Justin Fields as their starter midway through the 2021 season, it came as no surprise Dalton once again found himself on the move in short order. The TCU product next joined the Saints, and he started all 14 of his appearances in 2022. Dalton completed two thirds of his pass attempts that season while posting a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 18:9.

The Saints added Derek Carr last offseason, but Dalton remained in the NFC South by taking a two-year deal including $8MM guaranteed. That investment came with the knowledge Carolina would be taking a signal-caller in the draft, something which was cemented by the team’s blockbuster trade to acquire the No. 1 pick. Young has – to put it lightly – not justified the price paid by then-general manager Scott Fitterer so far in his career. Today’s move marks a notable turning point in his brief NFL tenure, but the team will no doubt re-insert him into the lineup at some point and in doing so give him another opportunity to make progress.

Dalton’s 164th career start will come against the Raiders, and his ability to lead the offense to a better showing will be worth watching. Should he remain atop the depth chart for at least one more week, he would be in line for a matchup against the Bengals.

NFC South Notes: Panthers, Diaby, Saints

August 1st, 2024 at 8:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Panthers will be shorthanded at the quarterback position for a bit. Andy Dalton sustained a quad injury, per Dave Canales, that is expected to sideline the 14th-year veteran for the next couple of weeks. As a result, Canales said (via The Athletic’s Joe Person) the Panthers are looking to add a quarterback. Carolina gave Dalton a two-year, $10MM deal with $8MM fully guaranteed to back up its to-be-determined rookie arm last year. Dalton backed up Bryce Young throughout last season and is in place to do so for a second coaching staff.

Rookie UDFA Jack Plummer is the only other passer on the Panthers’ 90-man roster. Ryan Tannehill headlines the list of available arms, one that also includes Blaine Gabbert and Trevor Siemian, but it would surprise if the recent Titans starter — who said recently he is not actively seeking a deal — accepted what looks to be a short-term opportunity. Though, it does appear the Panthers want a more experienced option running with their second team during practice and into the preseason.

Here is the latest from the NFC South:

  • Also on the injury front, the Buccaneers will be without YaYa Diaby for several weeks. A 2023 third-round pick who may well be Tampa Bay’s top edge-rushing option, Diaby sustained a high ankle sprain in practice, per the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud. Diaby was carted way from Bucs practice Thursday but looks to have avoided a major injury. The team has Week 1 as a realistic goal, according to ESPN.com’s Jenna Laine, who adds the second-year pass rusher is optimistic about not missing any regular-season time. He will not play during the Bucs’ preseason slate. Diaby, who replaced Joe Tryon-Shoyinka opposite the since-retired Shaq Barrett during the season, registered a Bucs-most 7.5 sacks in 2023.
  • The Saints‘ tackle situation has generated considerable attention this year, but they also need to make a change at guard. After James Hurst‘s retirement and Andrus Peat‘s Raiders defection, the team has a vacancy on the left side next to first-rounder Taliese Fuaga. Early during camp, the Saints have 2023 fourth-rounder Nick Saldiveri in place as their LG starter opposite Cesar Ruiz, SI.com’s Albert Breer notes. It sounds like the Saints want the Old Dominion alum to start, as WWL Radio’s Jeff Nowak indicates the team has not planned on rotating its first-team O-line reps. Saldiveri, a trade-up target last year, played in four games as a rookie. This would also mean the team’s Trevor Penning-at-RT rumors are close to producing a starting role, though preseason play will help determine New Orleans’ final five.
  • New Orleans’ recent Rashid Shaheed extension will give him a $4.2MM base salary for 2025 and a $1MM signing bonus, ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell tweets. Heavy void years proponents, the Saints will spread the bonus from 2024-27; the ’26 and ’27 seasons are voids. This will prevent the Saints from having to use a first- or second-round tender on their UDFA find next year, though it is far from a true extension. Given an ERFA tender months before this deal, Shaheed remains on track for unrestricted free agency in 2026.
  • Circling back to the Panthers, their agreement with Kemoko Turay is for one year and $1.13MM, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. No guaranteed money is included in the deal. Carolina’s contract for return man/receiver Deven Thompkins is worth $985K, Wilson adds.
  • As the Panthers transition to GM Dan Morgan‘s leadership, a scouting change will occur. Carolina is losing Midwest area scout Joel Patten, Person indicates. Patten, whom Dave Gettleman hired to his Midwest scout post in 2016, is retiring. A former NFL O-lineman who started for the Chargers and Colts in the late 1980s, Patten has worked in scouting roles in Washington, San Francisco, Houston and St. Louis. The 49ers employed Patten, 66, as director of player personnel from 2013-15. Former Eagles staffer Brad Obee is now in place as the Panthers’ Midwest scout.
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