Rhule: "I Believe We Have 3 Guys Good Enough to Start at Quarterback"

Do the Carolina Panthers have an open competition at quarterback?

Two-thirds of the Carolina Panthers quarterback room is entering their first year in the organization. The only returning quarterback, Will Grier, doesn't have any advantage in terms of the offense's philosophy due to the coaching change that took place this offseason. Instead, one of the newcomers and presumed starter, Teddy Bridgewater, knows Joe Brady's offense like the back of his hand and is doing literally everything he can to help the other guys in the room get caught up to speed.

“I walked up last week and he and Will [Grier] were playing XBOX or PlayStation and he’s kind of built our playbook in Madden and he was showing Will how he uses it and they were playing together," said head coach Matt Rhule. "I’ve been very impressed with his demeanor and the way in which he coaches the other two quarterbacks and helps them. That whole room, I think we have a really good quarterback room. I like the way they go about their business.”

QB Teddy Bridgewater No. (5) - Photo courtesy of Panthers.com

Teddy Bridgewater also spoke with the media on Monday and talked about how his knowledge of the system will not only be efficient early on, but how it can help accelerate the learning curve of P.J. Walker and Will Grier.

"Joe [Brady] was able to continue to pick things up from where we left off a couple years ago and he's not having to teach it to me for the first time, so it's been beneficial. Now I, along with Jake [Peetz] and Matt Lombardi, can be of assistance to the other quarterbacks in the room. I know how this offense is suppose to look and with me having some experience in this system with Joe, we expect things to look a certain way."

Even with Bridgewater being locked-in as the Panthers' starter, it's extremely important that the other two quarterbacks get a firm grasp of the offense prior to the start of the season because in a year like 2020, you just never know what is going to happen and who could contract the virus. Rhule talked about how the backups are progressing and the talent that sits inside of the quarterback room.

QB Will Grier No. (7) - Photo Courtesy of Panthers.com

“They both [Grier and Walker] played really, really well. Teddy [Bridgewater] is taking all the one’s reps and those guys take the two’s reps. We’re getting a lot of good reps and they’re getting a lot of chances to get on tape. I think this year more than ever, you need to have everybody ready and I believe we have three guys who are good enough to start at quarterback. They may not be good enough yet, but they will be. When I say not good enough yet, I just mean learning the system and all that, but I’m really pleased with where they’re headed.”

QB P.J. Walker No. (6)- Photo courtesy of Panthers.com

Although Walker played under Matt Rhule at Temple, it's not exactly the same offense. In fact, there's a lot of differences in the two. This offense is one that Grier is more accustomed to having played at West Virginia, where they liked to go uptempo and really stretch it out, pushing the ball down the field. Rhule says it's too early to tell which guy is sticking out as of right now, but he likes the progression that they are making. Expect Grier and Walker to battle it out all the way up until game week. 

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