The Carolina Panthers keep getting dragged into quarterback speculation, and the latest name tossed their way is J.J. McCarthy.
That idea comes after McCarthy failed to win Minnesota’s starting job, but Carolina would be making a serious mistake by chasing him, even if the move is framed as a backup addition. The Panthers have spent plenty of time in mock trades, drafts and signings tied to quarterbacks because so many people around the league still aren’t sold on Bryce Young. That skepticism isn’t entirely baseless, but Carolina believes it has its quarterback of the future.
If that belief turns out to be wrong, the better path would be to find the youngest and cheapest option in the draft rather than swing on a name like McCarthy. The 2026 season will tell the Panthers whether they were right about Young. If they’re not, the answer likely won’t be a patchwork fix from the current quarterback room or a trade for someone else’s former first-round pick.
A recent pitch from Fansided’s Mark Powell suggested a relatively inexpensive deal - a fourth-round pick - to bring McCarthy in as Young’s backup. But even if the intent is not to replace Young immediately, that kind of move still carries more weight than just adding depth. A former top-10 pick on a rookie contract is not the sort of quarterback you acquire simply to sit quietly behind the starter.
Powell noted that Haynes King and Kenny Pickett are not ideal backups, but that’s where the argument loses steam. King was excellent in the Hall of Fame Game and could wind up as QB2 before everything is settled. Pickett, meanwhile, was brought in as a helper for Young, not to push him for the job or deliver high-end play if Young gets hurt.
That doesn’t mean Pickett is nothing. If he has to play, the Panthers would probably get better results than they got from Andy Dalton last season.
Pickett is younger, more athletic and has enough experience to navigate a game if called upon. He’s also learned multiple playbooks and is considered pretty well-versed.
And if Carolina needs another emergency option, King is at least intriguing in that role.
The bigger point is that the Panthers don’t need to keep reworking the quarterback room right now. They can revisit that once Pickett reaches free agency next year and there’s a real decision to make on Young.
Until then, McCarthy is not the answer. In fact, he’s exactly the kind of move Carolina should avoid.
In Other News...
Panthers Face A Risky Haynes King Decision They Could Regret
As the Panthers move through their roster cuts, Haynes King has become one of those preseason names that can linger because of what he might eventually offer rather than what he has already shown. He has only appeared in the Hall of Fame Game so far, and his injury recovery has kept him from building much of a rsum in camp, but the appeal is obvious enough: a quarterback with enough versatility to be used in different offensive looks and enough short-yardage value to matter in a tight game.
That makes his spot a tricky one to judge, because the Panthers are weighing immediate roster math against the risk of letting a useful player get away before he has a chance to prove it. If they move on now, it would be easy to see how the decision could be revisited later if his development continues and another team is willing to bet on the same upside Carolina is trying to measure. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Suddenly Have One More Pass Rush Situation To Watch
The Panthers spent the offseason trying to give their pass rush a clearer shape, signing Jaelan Phillips to a four-year contract with the idea of pairing him with Nic Scourton. Instead, Scourtons torn ACL changed the picture before the regular season even arrived, leaving Carolina with another question mark in a spot that already needed reinforcement.
Josh Sweats name has entered the conversation as the kind of player who could fit what Carolina is looking for, especially with the Cardinals sitting on a veteran edge option. But Arizona general manager Monti Ossenfort has already said there is no interest in moving him, which leaves the Panthers monitoring a situation that could matter to their defense without offering any easy answers yet. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Defender Keeps Fueling A Discipline Debate Carolina Cant Ignore
Trevon Moehrig has quickly become the Panthers tone-setter on defense, the kind of player who brings a hard edge every time he steps on the field. That has also made him part of a larger conversation around discipline, after his controversial low blow incident against Jauan Jennings led to a one-game suspension. Moehrig has tried to move the discussion back to football, saying the episode was a distraction and stressing that he intends to play physical while staying within the rules.
Still, the subject does not go away easily when the contact keeps following him onto the practice field. During a joint session with the Jaguars, Moehrig delivered a hard hit on wide receiver Tim Jones that briefly sparked a skirmish, a reminder of how thin the line can be between edge and excess. For Carolina, it is the kind of balancing act that can energize a defense, but also keep the team watching closely to make sure the line is not crossed again. [Read more 🡒]