Quarterbacks looking for work should be reaching out to the Panthers.
The team is in the market for some help at the position because backup Andy Dalton is dealing with a quad injury. Head coach Dave Canales said on Thursday night that the team will be looking for help “for the time being.”
Undrafted rookie Jack Plummer is the only other quarterback on the roster behind Bryce Young and he got extra work during Thursday night’s Fan Fest practice.
“It was good for Jack Plummer to get out there to get those reps, started off that first possession, missed a couple of open guys just high,” Canales said, via the team’s website. “Part of the jitters. It’s so good to just see him work through that, settle himself and start making plays.”
The Panthers are set to open their preseason schedule next Thursday and Plummer will be in line for plenty of work in that game regardless of any moves the Panthers make in the coming days.
The Panthers have made a pair of roster moves at tight end.
Carolina announced the club has placed Stephen Sullivan on injured reserve with a quad issue.
As a corresponding move, the team has signed Curtis Hodges.
Sullivan, 27, has appeared in 28 games for Carolina over the last three seasons. In 2023, he caught 12 passes for 125 yards in 11 contests.
Hodges, 25, had been with the Commanders since entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2022. But he did not appear in a regular season game.
The Panthers will play their first preseason game against the Patriots next week.
Here’s a trivia question few fans will get right: Among running backs with at least 300 carries, who has the highest yards-per-carry average in NFL history?
The answer is Rashaad Penny.
Penny, who retired this week after a brief stint in training camp with the Panthers, had 348 carries for 1,951 yards in his NFL career, an average of 5.61 yards per carry. That’s the highest of any running back in NFL history with at least 300 carries. Bo Jackson, who averaged 5.40 yards per carry in his NFL career, ranks second.
That eye-popping average illustrates the talent that led the Seahawks to draft Penny in the first round in 2018. In his senior year at San Diego State, Penny’s numbers were incredible: 289 carries for 2,248 yards, an average of 7.8 yards per carry. There’s never been any doubting his ability to make big plays.
But in college, Penny stayed healthy. In the NFL, he did not. Penny only played in 45 games over his six NFL seasons, as injuries plagued his career. Shortly before he retired, Penny called himself one of the NFL’s best running backs when healthy. The problem was that “when healthy” part, which was rare.
Penny had one solid month when he briefly became the running back the Seahawks thought they were drafting: The final month of the 2021 season, when in five consecutive starts he totaled 92 carries for 671 yards and six touchdowns. That was a glimpse of what a healthy Penny might have been. The rest of his career was a frustrating string of injuries and disappointments for a talented but cursed player.
The Panthers were in need of running back help after the unexpected retirement of veteran Rashaad Penny on Tuesday. They filled that need Wednesday.
Carolina announced the signing of running back Dillon Johnson.
The undrafted rookie, who played at Mississippi State and Washington, was in camp with the Titans until last week. He ran for 1,195 yards and 16 touchdowns for the Huskies last season.
In a corresponding move, the Panthers waived wide receiver Daewood Davis with an injury designation. He was carted off the practice field earlier this week.
Last year, he got traded. This year, he’s getting paid.
Bears receiver D.J. Moore has agreed to a four-year extension. It has a base value of $110 million with $82.6 million guaranteed, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media.
That’s a new-money average of $27.5 million.
Moore had two years left on his prior contract. He was due to make $15.85 million in 2024 and $14.85 million in 2025. He’s now under contract for six years at $130.35 million. It’s an average from signing of $21.725 million.
Moore was part of the trade that allowed the Panthers to move up and draft quarterback Bryce Young with the first overall pick in the 2023 draft. The trade package also included Carolina’s first-round pick in 2024. Which became the first overall pick. Which became quarterback Caleb Williams.
A first-round pick of the Panthers in 2018, Moore caught 96 passes for 1,364 yards and eight touchdowns last year, his first full season with the Bears. All three were career highs.
