Carolina Panthers predicted to upgrade backup QB spot in 2025 NFL free agency

Brad Gagnon at Bleacher Report believes the Panthers will keep Bryce Young, but add another young QB.

Tim Weaver | Nov 29, 2024

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - NOVEMBER 09: Justin Fields #1 of the Chicago Bears and Andy Dalton #14 of the Carolina Panthers talk after their game at Soldier Field on November 09, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. / (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

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Carolina Panthers

There's still a lot of football left to play. That said, right now it seems obvious that the Carolina Panthers will be keeping Bryce Young and starting him at quarterback Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season. Assuming Young doesn't turn back into the QB we saw the first two games of this year before he was benched, then that will be the smartest move to make - betting that Young keeps on developing and starts delivering more special games like the one we saw last week.

However, it would be wise for the Panthers to upgrade their quarterback depth chart in a different way. While long-time veteran Andy Dalton balled out against a couple of really bad defenses early this season he reminded everybody why he's now a backup the following four games. Now 37 years old, Dalton is clearly past his peak and is unlikely to deliver much value in the future, however head coach Dave Canales might feel about him.

That means the best move at QB this coming offseason will be finding a younger backup to replace Dalton, ideally one with a higher ceiling. They could do that in the draft, but this is supposed to be a relatively weak QB crop in 2025, so their better option might be looking to fill that need in free agency.

According to Brad Gagnon at Bleacher Report, the Panthers will sign Justin Fields, who's currently with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

B/R on Panthers signing Justin Fields

"Bryce Young returns to the Panthers, who also sign Justin Fields: Might as well put some relatively cheap pressure on the third-year quarterback, and Fields could be utilized in a variety of ways beyond that."

Fields seemed unable to deliver on his monster potential his first few years in the league starting for the Chicago Bears. However, the context matters and one can not honestly fault any quarterback for appearing to fail with that organization. Still just 25 years old, Young has flashed incredible upside as a rusher and from his time at Ohio State we know there's plenty of arm talent to spare there, even if he hasn't shown it consistently enough at this level as of yet.

Fields was off to a good start this season with the Steelers, going 4-2 and throwing five touchdowns to go with one interception before he was benched in favor of Russell Wilson. Improbably, Wilson has played better and Pittsburgh has gone 4-1 since he took over at QB.

That means if the Steelers believe they have a window open to make a deep postseason run, odds are they will want Wilson running this offense next year, making Fields expendable. If the Panthers could sign Fields to a reasonable short-term deal (two years, backup money) they might get great value with a potent backup option should things not work out with Bryce Young or he gets injured.