Andy Dalton Embraces Mentor Role: 'I Know the Situation That We're in Here'

The veteran quarterback is willing to do whatever he can to help out Bryce Young.

Andy Dalton signed a two-year deal with the Carolina Panthers earlier this offseason and he knew exactly what he was signing up for. It wasn't some surprise that Carolina would be taking a quarterback in the 2023 NFL Draft and he understood that his role would be to come in, mentor the young guy, and hold down the fort (if needed) until that rookie is ready to take over the starting gig.

"I know the situation that we're in here," Dalton said. "I knew coming in that we were going to have the first pick and we were going to take a quarterback. For me, that doesn't change my mindset of how I'm going about every single day. I know the reality that this thing is going to be Bryce's at some point. And right now, for me, it's to go be me out there and play like I can play and practice how I expect to practice. And I think with part of that, it's helping Bryce learn the NFL game and the mechanics of getting in and out of the huddle and all the little things you need to learn going into it."

As you would expect, Dalton wants to play but he gets the big picture. And for the role he is in, you need to have an unselfish guy who is willing to take a bit of a backseat and act more as a teacher to Young and that's something he's okay with.

"The situation we're in, like, I think everybody understands as soon as he's ready he's going to get every opportunity to be out there. Obviously, I want to be the one playing and all that kind of stuff but the situation is what it is.

"I just think throughout my career I've been in a lot of different situations. I've been through it all. I was in Bryce's shoes, I started as a rookie. I've gone through it and had my career end in Cincinnati to then go be the backup in Dallas and that wasn't necessarily a mentor role. You're taking a step back, but still got the chance to play for half the year. Then when I was in Chicago, I was the starter going in and I got hurt and then it switched over to Justin [Fields]. So I think just in that situation there, I tried to do everything I could to help him out. Throughout my career I've been through a lot, so I think at the end of the day you just want to be yourself and help out in any way you can."

In all likelihood, Young will be named the starter for the Week 1 matchup in Atlanta. But if for some reason head coach Frank Reich doesn't believe he's quite ready to go, Dalton is more than capable of running the offense and helping the team win games in the meantime. He's won 83 games in his career, is a three-time Pro Bowler, and has thrown for over 38,000 yards and 244 touchdowns. This is the type of guy you want your rookie quarterback to learn from. 

And although we're still in the early stages, the student is already impressing the teacher.

"Bryce has been great from the day he got here. I think that's the reason why we picked him because of his makeup. Smart kid. Nothing seems too big for him. He's studied really well. He's done a great job of learning the offense so far and being on top of everything. Natural thrower. I mean, all the stuff that you want. I've been really impressed with him."

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