The Carolina Panthers will keep veteran quarterback Andy Dalton in the building after his mentorship proved beneficial for their young signal-caller Bryce Young.
The Panthers announced that Dalton, who was set to become a free agent, signed a new two-year deal to continue serving as Young’s backup. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the contract is worth $8 million with $6 million in guaranteed money and a potential maximum value of $10 million.
Dalton played much more than expected in the 2024 season. After Young struggled in his first two games, Dalton took over as a starter for the Week 3 clash against the Las Vegas Raiders and led the team to a win. He ended up making four more starts before ceding the starting job back to Young due to a thumb injury.
Young played well down the stretch, showing significant improvement, and credited a lot of his newfound success to Dalton.
“He is always there, just trying to help me out,” Young said. “And again, having a guy like that who really does it for the right reasons and wants to help, that’s super rare. So I’m super grateful for that.”
Andy Dalton entered the league in 2011 as the second-round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals. He went on to start nine seasons for the franchise before embarking on stints with the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, and now the Panthers. Dalton has thrown for 39,500 yards and 253 touchdowns while having an 84−82−2 record as a starter. He also has three Pro Bowl selections on his resume.
