Who Should I Start? Andy Dalton or Derek Carr

Tuesday, February 18, 4:15 PM

The Carolina Panthers and quarterback Andy Dalton agreed on a two-year, $8 million deal on Tuesday that includes $6 million guaranteed and has a maximum value of $10 million, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter. The veteran signal-caller will remain in Carolina, where he's developed a close relationship with starter Bryce Young. Dalton, 37, ended up making five starts for the Panthers in 2024 after the team benched Young following his slow start. In his six appearances in his second year in Carolina, the Red Rifle completed 66.3% of his 160 pass attempts for 989 yards, seven touchdowns and six interceptions before suffering a thumb injury in a car accident that gave the Panthers a reason to go back to Young to end the year. Young looked the best he has in his young career to close out 2024, so Dalton will be entrenched as his backup entering the 2025 season.

Saturday, February 22, 12:09 PM

Although reports to this point suggest that the New Orleans Saints will keep quarterback Derek Carr around in new head coach Kellen Moore's first season in 2025, The Athletic's Amos Morale III also points out that Carr is the most obvious cut candidate as well. Moore was non-committal about Carr's future during his introductory press conference, and the Saints are roughly $51 million over the projected 2025 salary cap. Cutting the veteran signal-caller would add to the team's league-leading dead-money total, according to Spotrac, but the Saints have a lot of those contracts coming off the books in 2026. If Moore and his coaching staff decide to stick with Carr, they will at the very least need to restructure his deal. The 33-year-old dealt with more injuries in 2024 and played in a career-low 10 games. Carr has become a pretty big injury risk and will carry a $30 million base salary and $10 million roster bonus in 2025.