Panthers News: Bryce Young, Brian Burns, Derrick Brown and Andy Dalton
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers can depend on Andy Dalton
The Carolina Panthers are placing a significant amount of faith in quarterback Bryce Young heading into his rookie campaign. He's already moved atop the depth chart and looks set to start in Week 1 at the Atlanta Falcons barring anything drastic occurring in the coming weeks, leaving veteran Andy Dalton to fill backup duties until further notice.
This is a role Dalton accepted at this late stage of his playing career. Mentoring Young and steering him on the right path remains the biggest priority, but the Panthers know they have a capable understudy in the event Young does miss time for whatever reason.
Durability concerns have been raised regarding Young due to his frame. But Tyler Sullivan from CBS Sports named Carolina as one of the teams best positioned to cope with injury problems thanks in no small part to Dalton's arrival.
"Andy Dalton would be the quarterback to step in in the event of an injury to Young, and teams could do a lot worse than the 35-year-old veteran. Dalton was 6-8 as a starter for New Orleans last year, but did complete 66.7% of his passes and had a 95.2 passer rating. With an intriguing receiving corps of Adam Thielen, D.J. Chark, Terrace Marshall and rookie Jonathan Mingo along with running back Miles Sanders and tight end Hayden Hurst, Dalton is plenty capable to put points on the board with this unit."
- Tyler Sullivan, CBS Sports
This paints an encouraging picture in some respects. However, losing Young for a prolonged period due to injury would be nothing short of disastrous when one considers the investment Carolina made in their new signal-caller this offseason.